The Winter Art Burglary
by Jude Rigby
Summary: The Angels are assigned to an art theft case, and the suspect turns out to be someone close to one of the Angels. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Sequel to A Sweet Revenge (Read that first to understand this story) Completed
1. I:A Costume Party Dylan

A/N: Thanks to all the people who read the prequel to this, 'A Sweet Revenge.' I hope that you all enjoy this ff and will review it!  
  
A/N 2: The case in this chapter has very little, if nothing, to do with the rest of the story. I just have this in my story since the two movies did this as well.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
I  
A Costume Party  
Dylan  
  
I looked down at the party that was taking place below me. A large group of people were dancing in the middle of the room, while the other guests were wandering around.  
  
"Why the hell did I get stuck with this dress?" I heard Alex mutter in my ear.  
  
I smiled and said softly, "You came late to the warehouse."  
  
"And that dress was the only one that fit you," I heard Natalie say.  
  
I could hear Alex grumbling, and I laughed softly to myself.  
  
The four of us; Alex, Natalie, Anthony and I; were on a stakeout. We had been hired by a wealthy man to make sure his fiancée's jewels weren't stolen. A week ago, this man, Mr. Victor Thatch, had gotten a letter saying that the jewels were going to be stolen tonight.  
  
We all had to dress up in costumes to be able to blend in with the rest of the guests. It was Halloween and Thatch was holding a costume party to celebrate the holiday.  
  
I pushed back from the railing I had been leaning on and I walked over to the staircase. I lifted my dress up slightly so I wouldn't trip, and I went down the stairs. I spotted Alex and then Natalie and I nodded to them discreetly. "I'm going to head outside and see where the phantom is," I muttered into my molar mike.  
  
Anthony's costume was of The Phantom of the Opera, which was the only thing he would consider wearing. The rest of us had on costumes that were more historical-that is what most of the other guests were wearing. Alex's costume was a 1700's dress that had really wide hoops that manage to hit everyone near her and made it really hard for her to walk through a doorway. Natalie had chosen a green flapper dress from that 1920's. As for my costume, I had picked out an Empire-style dress from the early 1800's. We were all wearing wigs too. Anthony had a grey-haired wig, Alex a blonde one, Natalie a black-haired one and I had a brown-haired wig.  
  
I walked out of the room and onto the patio that looked out over the 405 freeway and down at the Getty Museum. I spotted a tall figure wearing a long black cape standing near the corner of the house and I walked over to him. As I stood next to him, he turned slightly and although there was a mask covering half his face, I could tell it was Anthony.  
  
"It's a beautiful night," I said casually, not looking at him.  
  
"It's too hazy to really see anything," he answered.  
  
I nodded. That had been the code we worked out earlier; there was nothing out of the ordinary yet.  
  
"Anything out there Dylan?" Alex asked.  
  
"Nothing," I muttered. "I wish that letter would have been a little more specific."  
  
"That would have taken all the fun out of this," I heard Natalie say cheerily.  
  
I shook my head and was about to say something when Anthony tapped my arm softly. I looked over at him; he was looked at the side of the house. I looked that way and saw a figure climbing up to the room where the safe holding the jewels were.  
  
"Excuse me," Anthony said. He turned and walked back to into the mansion.  
  
"Heads up guys," I said into the mike. "Our thief is here and going up to the safe."  
  
"I see Anthony going up," Natalie said.  
  
"Me too," Alex said.  
  
I turned from the view and went inside, looking for Mr. Thatch. When I saw him, I walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm.  
  
"Excuse me please," Thatch said to the group of people he was talking to. He turned and walked across the room and over to the staircase.  
  
I followed him to the third floor and then down a hallway to the room where the safe was.  
  
Anthony walked up to us and held out his hand to Thatch. He took the keys from the man and walked over to the door and unlocked it. Then he walked back to us and motioned for us to be silent.  
  
By that time Natalie and Alex had come into the hallway and stood next to us.  
  
"You'd better go back to the stairs Mr. Thatch," Natalie whispered. "This will probably be dangerous."  
  
Nodding, the man turned and walked down the hallway, away from us and the room with the safe.  
  
When he had left, the four of us all took off our costumes (Anthony only had to take off his cape and mask) to reveal the black shirts and pants we had on underneath.  
  
"I'll go in first with Anthony," Alex whispered. "Then you two follow." When we nodded, she walked over to the door and opened it slowly. She slipped inside with Anthony following her.  
  
Natalie and I waited a few seconds before we went into the room.  
  
Inside, I could see that Alex was standing next to the light switch and Anthony was standing near the window. I moved over to the doorway of the small office in the back of the room where the safe was.  
  
There were rustling sounds coming from inside and I tensed up, flattening my back against the wall next to the doorway. The robber was taking the jewels out of the safe.  
  
I heard the sound of a zipper being closed and then footsteps walking out of the office. I saw the thief walk past me, a gun in one hand and a duffel back in the other. I raised my leg and kicked the gun from the robber's hand. "Now!" I yelled.  
  
Alex turned on the lights while Anthony ran to me and kicked the thief in the chest, knocking him against the wall and he fell unconscious.  
  
Before Alex and Natalie could run over to us, a second person, wearing a costume, came out of the office and started firing a gun at us.  
  
I felt a bullet hit me in the chest and I flew back onto the ground.  
  
Anthony and the man fought over the gun for a few moments before Anthony got shot in the chest and fell to the floor too.  
  
The man walked to the thief and picked up the duffel bag. Looking around the room to make sure that no one was in there, the man walked to the doorway, where he was met by Alex and Natalie. They both kicked him in the stomach and he fell to the ground, hitting his head and falling unconscious.  
  
"You two okay?" Alex said, walking over to us.  
  
"Just great," I said as Anthony helped me stand up. "Thank god for Kevlar vests."  
  
"Did you manage to get him?" Mr. Thatch said anxiously, standing in the doorway.  
  
"Yep and there were two thieves," Natalie answered, motioning to the two unconscious men sprawled on the floor.  
  
"I know that man!" Thatch cried, looking down at the man wearing the costume. "He's my cousin's boyfriend. In fact, he was here at the party tonight."  
  
"Looks like he let the robber in," Alex said. She took out her cell phone and dialed a number. "The police will be here soon to arrest these two," she said, hanging up the phone.  
  
I picked up the duffle bag and handed it to Thatch. "The jewels should be in there," I said to him.  
  
"Thank you all so much," he said, taking the bag.  
  
We nodded to him and walked into the hallway, grabbing our costumes. Then we left the mansion and the party, which was still going, going out the back door.  
  
When we reached our cars at the bottom of the hill, Natalie surprised us by handing us each a paper bag.  
  
"What's in here?" Alex asked, looking inside her bag.  
  
"Some candy since we had to work on Halloween," Natalie said, smiling.  
  
"Thanks a bunch Nat," I said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a chocolate bar.  
  
"Thank you," Anthony said to Natalie.  
"I hope you have candy at home for yourself," Alex said.  
  
"Of course, Pete bought some candy to hand out to trick 'or' treaters tonight and I made the bags for you," Natalie said. "Speaking of Pete, I better go home and help him."  
  
"I better get home to," Alex said. "Talk to you guys later!" She turned and hurried into her car.  
  
"See you guys," Natalie said, going to her car. "Happy Halloween!"  
  
"Bye Nat, thanks for the candy again," I called as she drove away.  
  
I turned to Anthony and said, "Ready to go and celebrate Halloween ourselves?"  
  
He grinned down at me wickedly and took my car keys from my hand and pulled me to the car.  
  
We drove back to our home and we celebrated the holiday for the rest of the night in bed. 


	2. II:Pacific Coast Highway Dylan and Ant...

A/N: A big, huge thanks to villainbabe for your review of the 1st chapter. I hope I get more reviews soon!  
  
A/N 2: Some WAFFiness in here, know that you readers don't mind it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the LA Times or the Pacific Coast Highway.  
  
II  
Pacific Coast Highway  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
I woke up one morning three weeks later to the sound of my alarm blaring out some rock song. I reached over, without getting out from under the covers, and I turned the alarm off. I yawned sleepily and lifted my head up just as Anthony slipped out from under the covers, walking over to the bathroom.  
  
Sighing, I sat up and stretched my arms over my head. I got out of bed and walked over to the window to see if it was still raining. It was clear outside, but I could feel the breeze that was blowing in from the slightly opened window was cold.  
  
I turned around when I head the bathroom door open and Anthony came out, dressed in a black suit.  
  
"Is it raining?" he asked slowly.  
  
"Nope, it cleared up," I answered. "But it's still cold." When he nodded, I went into the closet to change.  
  
Anthony  
  
He still had a hard time believing all the changes that had happened in his life. Almost three months ago, he had been forced to watch Dylan from afar. Now he was living, and sometimes, working with her.  
  
Another big change was the fact that Anthony was speaking. Dylan had taught him how to say a lot of words, but even so, he didn't talk too often. When he was at home with Dylan and then when it was necessary when he worked did he talk.  
  
Now he and Dylan were in the kitchen, putting together a quick breakfast. They sat down at the table to eat and Anthony picked up the L.A. Times and looked over the front page. "Dylan, look," he said, pointing to a story.  
  
"'Art heist at the Getty,'" she said, reading the headline. "That was the white buildings that we saw below Thatch's mansion."  
  
"Have you been?" Anthony asked.  
  
"No," Dylan answered, shaking her head. "I don't have the patience for staring at paintings for hours. Alex, though, loves that place. I bet she'll be really upset when she hears about this."  
  
Anthony nodded. He then went back to the paper and the robbery story.  
  
Dylan  
  
We left the house a few minutes after we finished breakfast and went to the garage.  
  
"Which car?" I asked Anthony.  
  
"Yours," he answered simply.  
  
I pulled my car keys out of my pocket and unlocked the doors. We got in and I turned on the car, leaving the house and driving to the freeway.  
  
Anthony and I had started these drives when I bought my new car. We would take either his Bentley or my car and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was usually my car that we chose to drive, since it was a convertible.  
  
As we got onto the PCH, I pressed down on the gas pedal and smiled at the small roar the car made. I loved my new car, probably even more that the one I had before this. I had gotten an old Ford Thunderbird and then had it custom painted. It used to be a forest green color, but I had it changed to a dark blue shade with a white stripe going down the middle of the car.  
  
The traffic on PCH was very light that morning and I was able to drive for an hour without having to slow down.  
  
We reached the dock where we would stop before we headed back home. I parked the car on the side of the road, next to the rocks that edge the ocean and turned off the engine.  
  
I sat back in my seat and took off my sunglasses. I turned to Anthony and grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly.  
  
He turned from looking out at the ocean and raised my hand to his lips, kissing the palm.  
  
"Do you want to drive back?" I asked him.  
  
Anthony nodded and then got out of the car, letting go of my hand. He walked over to the rocks and sat down on one, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket.  
  
I got out of the car and walked over to wear Anthony was sitting. As he lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, I sat down beside him.  
  
We sat in silence for a few minutes before I leaned against Anthony and he put his arm around my shoulder.  
  
"I called Alex when we came back from dinner last night," I said.  
  
"How are her co-co-," Anthony tried to say; he stopped and puffed on his cigarette in frustration.  
  
"Cous-ins," I said to him slowly.  
  
"Co-cous-ins," he repeated. "Co-cousins."  
  
"Good job," I said softly. That was the method I used to teach him how to say a word. I also usually kissed him when he was able to say a new word. "Her cousins are doing well. They-" I started to say.  
  
Putting out his cigarette on a rock, Anthony turned to me and pulled my lips to his. He kissed me deeply for a few moments before he pulled away slowly. Then he smirked at me.  
  
"You just had to get your reward didn't you?" I asked in mock exasperation.  
  
He nodded and then stood up, helping me to stand. "Where do we go now?" Anthony asked as we walked back to my car.  
  
I looked at my watch and then said, "Well if we don't get called in, we can drive around the valley."  
  
Nodding, Anthony took my keys and got into the driver's seat. He then started the car and pulled back onto the freeway, heading back down to L.A.  
  
Anthony  
  
He loved driving Dylan's car. And it was even more fun when he drove it on the freeway. As he swerved past the slower moving cars, Anthony glanced over at Dylan and saw that her hair was being blown back in the wind. He couldn't resist, so he reached out and pulled a few strands from her head.  
  
"Ouch," Dylan said, putting her hand on the tiny bald patch she now had on her head. "I hate it when you do that outside of bed."  
  
Anthony rubbed the hair against his cheek and then under his nose. Ever since he and Dylan had started living together, he had only pulled some hair from just before they made love. Although there were a few times he pulled some of her hair just to annoy her. He was going to say something when Dylan's cell phone rang.  
  
"Hello," she said, answering it. She listened for a few moments before she said, "Okay, we'll both be in as soon as we can. Bye." She hung up the phone and said to Anthony, "Change of plans, we need to get over to the Agency."  
  
Nodding, Anthony pushed down on the gas pedal and cut across two lanes of traffic to get onto the freeway that would take them to the Agency.  
  
A few horns honked at the Thunderbird, but neither Anthony nor Dylan paid any attention, their minds set on getting to the office. 


	3. III:The Getty Heist Dylan

A/N: Big thanks to villianbabe, and Miss Maya for your reviews. Glad to see that you're reading this!  
  
A/N 2: This chapter isn't all too great, but it sets up part of the plot.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the Getty Museum or the paintings that are mentioned here.  
  
III  
The Getty Heist  
Dylan  
  
Anthony and I walked into the office half an hour later.  
  
"What happening Dylan, Anthony?" Bosley said to us from behind his desk.  
  
"Hi Bos," I said, walking over to the couch.  
  
"Hello," Anthony said quietly, sitting down in the armchair next to the couch.  
  
"Where are Nat and Alex?" I asked, sitting down.  
  
"They should be here soon," Bosley answered.  
  
A few seconds later, the door behind me opened and Alex and Natalie walked inside.  
  
"It's an outrage," Alex was saying, waving around a newspaper. "Ten paintings those jerks managed to get away with. It's absolutely unbelievable!"  
  
"What's the matter?" Bosley asked, confused at Alex's ranting.  
  
"I guess you read about the Getty theft Alex?" I said to her as she and Natalie sat down next to me.  
  
"Yes, and it's horrible!" Alex cried.  
  
I glanced over at Anthony and grinned at him. I had been right when I said Alex would be upset over the robbery.  
  
The phone then rang while Alex was still raving about the Getty heist.  
  
"Hold up there Alex," Bosley said. "You've got a job to do." He reached over and pressed a button on his phone, turning on the speakerphone.  
  
"Good morning Angels, Anthony," Charlie said.  
  
"Good morning Charlie," the three of us answered.  
  
"Morning," Anthony said.  
  
"I hope that you're all rested for your new case," Charlie said.  
  
Bosley got up and walked over to us, giving us our files.  
  
"I'm sure that you heard about the robbery at the J.P. Getty Museum," Charlie said.  
  
"We did," Natalie said, glancing at Alex.  
  
"I would like you to meet the owner of the museum, Adam Getty-Ryder," Charlie said.  
  
A door to the side of the projection screen opened and a man walked into the office. He was tall with short blonde hair and green eyes.  
  
"Mr. Ryder has come to us for help in finding the ten paintings that were stolen from the museum," Charlie said.  
  
"That's right. I don't think that the LAPD or the FBI will be able to do a sufficient job in finding the art," Ryder said.  
  
"What were the paintings that were stolen?" Alex asked.  
  
"They took one of our more famous pieces," Ryder said, pointing at the projection screen. "Irises by van Gogh. Then they took Maria-Frederike by Liotard, Marque de Santiago by Goya, Christ on the Cross by Greco, St. Bartholomew by Rembrandt, Young Man in Red by Raphael, Mars and Rhea Sylvia by Rubens, La Promenade by Renoir, Italian Landscape with Riders by Moucheron and Lady Playing a Lute by Veneto."  
  
As Ryder named each painting, a photo of the piece of art appeared on the screen.  
  
"Where were the paintings being kept?" I asked.  
  
"They were hung in buildings two and three," Ryder answered.  
  
"How much would the paintings be worth all together?" Alex asked a few seconds later.  
  
"About nine million dollars if they were sold legally," Ryder answered. "But they'll probably be sold on the black market. There they'll be worth at least twenty six million dollars."  
  
"Was there anything special about the paintings that were taken?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure if there's anything else besides the fact that they were worth a lot of money," Ryder said.  
  
"We need to take a look at the buildings where the paintings were taken from," Alex said. "There's bound to be something there we can work with."  
  
Nodding, Ryder said, "That can be done, but you'll have to wait until the museum closes. That way you'll be able to get a good look at the places the paintings were."  
  
"Until then, I'm sure there are other things that we will need to look at," Charlie said.  
  
Ryder looked down at his watch and said, "I need to go. I'll let the guards at the museum know that you're coming after everyone leaves." Nodding goodbye to us, he turned and the left the office.  
  
"Time to get to work Angels, Anthony," Charlie said once Ryder had closed the door behind him.  
  
Later on that afternoon, Anthony and I were driving around Los Angeles. We had been assigned by Charlie to look at all the stores that sold tools and other things that the police had found at the museum. The report that Bosley had given us had a short list and the number of tools they had found.  
  
We had visited a lot of hardware stores that were around the city without really finding anything out.  
  
I pulled into the parking lot of a hardware store a few miles from the museum and Anthony and I got out of the car.  
  
We walked into the store and looked around us before a worker walked over to us.  
  
"Can I help you at all?" he asked.  
  
"Yes. I am Detective White and this is Detective Whitman," I said, showing him the badge Alex had given me at the Agency. "Do you know if anyone came in here to buy these things?" I asked, giving him the piece of paper with the list of items.  
  
Looking over the list, the man scratched his head. "Well, there have been a few people buying some of this stuff, but not in the amounts that are on here," he said, giving the paper back to me.  
  
"Well thank you for your help," I said. Then I turned and left the store, Anthony behind me. I got into the drivers seat of my car and was about to start the engine when my cell phone rang. "Hello," I said when I answered it.  
  
"It's me Dylan," Natalie said. "Alex and I are headed over to the Getty."  
  
"Did you find anything?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing in the black market websites we checked out or the pawn shops I called," Natalie answered.  
  
"Okay. Anthony and I just visited the last hardware store on Alex's list," I said. "Nothing in any of them."  
  
"So I guess we'll be seeing you in a few minutes," Natalie said. "Bye."  
  
"Bye," I said. I hung up the phone and turned to Anthony. "They didn't find anything either."  
  
He nodded and asked, "Are we going to the G-Getty?"  
  
I started the car and left the parking lot. As I drove to the freeway, I said to him. "We'll meet Alex and Nat there in a couple of minutes." 


	4. IV:Buildings Two and Three Dylan

A/N: Thanks for your review villianbabe, I'm blushing from your kind compliment and I must say that you are a wonderful A/D author too! And welcome to my sequel Skyfire4, glad that you're reading and enjoying this!  
  
A/N 2: 'Illuminating the Renaissance' and 'Strange Days' are actual exhibits that are being show at the Getty Museum right now.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the Getty Museum.  
  
IV  
Buildings Two and Three  
Dylan  
  
I drove into the parking structure at the Getty after being waved in by the guards. I saw Natalie and Alex walking to the exit of the parking lot and I honked the car horn.  
  
They both turned around and waited for me to park my car before walking over.  
  
"We're going to take the trolley up to the museum," Alex said when Anthony and I got out of the car.  
  
"Trolley?" I asked, confused.  
  
"The museum is only accessible by the trolley," Alex explained as we headed over to the trolley station. "There is a road that goes up the hill to the museum too, but it's too steep for our cars."  
  
"Oh," I said as we got onto the white trolley. As it started to go up the hill, I asked Alex, "How many times have you been here?"  
  
"I don't keep track," she answered. "But I try to come when they have new exhibits."  
  
"I remember when you dragged me here to see the 'Illuminating the Renaissance' and 'Strange Days' exhibits," Natalie said when we were half- way up the hill.  
  
"When was that?" I asked.  
  
"After the McCadden case, when we had that week off," Alex answered.  
  
"Did you like it at all?" I said to Natalie.  
  
She shrugged and answered, "It was okay, but Alex takes too much time looking at the stuff in there."  
  
I couldn't help but giggle and Alex rolled her eyes at me in annoyance. "Before I could apologize, the trolley arrived at the museum and we got out.  
  
"You must be the people that Ryder hired," a young woman said, coming down large flight of steps towards us. She was averaged height and she had brown hair and green eyes.  
  
"Yeah, we are," Natalie said. "Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Catherine Crown," the woman said. "I am the Head of the Board of Directors here at the Getty. Ryder has told me to take you to the buildings where the robbery took place."  
  
"Actually, Ms. Crown," Alex said. "It would be better if we split up to look at each building." Seeing Anthony's and my surprised looks she then said, "The buildings are pretty big and the paintings were spread out."  
  
"Very well," Crown said brusquely. "Follow me please." She turned and walked back up the flight of stairs.  
  
"You and Anthony will go look in building two," Alex said in Russian as we climbed up the stairs.  
  
"Make sure you look at the ceilings to see if they came in that way," Natalie said in Russian, giving me the briefcase she had been holding.  
  
"Don't trust her?" I asked, in Russian as well, nodding my head towards Crown. Alex, Natalie and Anthony all nodded and I said, "Me too."  
  
Crown led us though a large building that seemed to be the lobby. She walked across the room and then out of the building into a long courtyard. There was a fountain that was turned off and a lot of tables to the right. Crown walked down the middle of the courtyard, stopping in front of a circular fountain. "That's building two," she said, turning to us and motioning to her right. "And the other is building three." With that she walked past and stalked towards the entrance.  
  
When she was gone, Alex opened her briefcase and took out four molar mikes and earpieces. Handing them to us, she said, "If it looks like the robbers came in through the ceiling, we'll have to take the security camera tapes with us so we cane study them."  
  
Then Alex handed me a map of building two. "Each 'x' is where a painting was taken."  
  
I put my earpiece in my ear and said, "We'll let you know if we find anything." With that, Anthony and I walked over to building two and Natalie and Alex went into building three.  
  
Inside the building, Anthony took the map from me and studied it for a moment before saying, "That way." He walked over to a flight of stairs in front of us and started to walk down.  
  
I followed him, when I saw a black spot on the wall where a painting had been. I hurried past Anthony down the stairs and went over to the wall.  
  
"What is it?" Anthony asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," I said. I kneeled down on the floor and opened the briefcase Natalie had given me. I took out a razor blade and a small plastic bag. While Anthony watched, I scraped some of the black stuff off the wall. "What ever this is, it's stuck to the razor," I said, dropping it into the plastic bag.  
  
Anthony had turned from the wall and was looking down at the ground. "Look Dylan," he said to me.  
  
I turned around and looked at where he was pointing. There was half a shoeprint hidden in the shadows behind the staircase. I walked over to it and took out a large piece of adhesive tape, putting it on top of the shoeprint.  
  
Holding out a piece of white paper, Anthony helped me stick the tape onto the paper.  
  
"Dylan," I heard Alex say into my earpiece.  
  
"Yeah," I answered, putting the paper into the briefcase.  
  
"Did you find a shoeprint and a black sticky stuff that was on the wall?" she asked.  
  
"You found it too?" I asked.  
  
"In all five of the places where the paintings were taken from," Natalie said.  
  
"Then it's got to be the same in all the places here too," I said, looking over at Anthony who was nodding at me.  
  
"Did you look at the ceiling?" Alex asked.  
  
"Not yet," I said. I closed the briefcase and Anthony and I walked up the stairs to the top floor.  
  
"We checked the ceiling in here and there was nothing," Natalie said.  
  
"So they forced their way in on the ground to get into that building?" I asked. We reached the top floor and I stayed back by the stairs while Anthony looked at the ceiling.  
  
"Maybe," Alex said. "But they could have just gotten into building two through the ceiling and then walked over to this building. The two are connected."  
  
Anthony tapped my arm and pointed up at one of the skylights.  
  
I looked up and saw that there was a small crack at the bottom of the skylight. "It looks like they came in through here Alex," I said. "The skylight's been moved."  
  
"Okay, meet us outside and we'll try and find Crown so we can get the security camera tapes," Alex said. "Oh and bring a sample of that black stuff from the wall and then put the shoeprint-" she started to say.  
  
"Already done Alex," I interrupted. "We'll meet you outside." 


	5. V:At the Lab Dylan and Anthony

A/N: Big thank you to villianbabe for all your reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the Getty Museum.  
  
V  
At the Lab  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
"Find anything of importance?" Crown asked as we entered the lobby.  
  
"Nothing really," I said.  
  
"We think, though, that the security tapes from last night will be important," Alex said.  
  
"Oh, well I'm not sure if they kept the tapes from last night, but I'll check for you," Crown said, looking nervous. "Wait here." She went up the metal staircase and over to an office that was above us.  
  
"She's gotta be in on this," Natalie whispered when the door to the office closed.  
  
"I don't know Nat," Alex said. "She could be stressed out because of the robbery."  
  
"Then why doesn't she seem to want to help us?" I asked.  
  
"Look, we should just concentrate on what we found and the tapes for now. We shouldn't start placing the blame on anyone until we know things for sure. Okay?" Alex said.  
  
"Sure Alex," Natalie said.  
  
Anthony nodded and I gave her a mock salute.  
  
Alex rolled her eyes as the office door above us opened.  
  
Crown came down the stairs, carrying a few videotapes. "There aren't too many," she said as she gave them to Natalie. "Some of the cameras are broken."  
  
"When did they break?" I asked suspiciously.  
  
"Um, well the maintenance people believe they broke early yesterday morning," Crown answered. "I have to go; the trolley is here for you. Good-bye." She turned and went back up the stairs to the office.  
  
Natalie and I glanced over at Alex, giving her questioning looks.  
  
"Come on, we've got work to do," Alex said brusquely. She walked across the lobby and over to the doors to the trolley.  
  
Anthony  
  
He drove Dylan's car out of the Getty and onto the 405 freeway. As they headed towards the Agency's lab, Anthony watched Dylan as she took out the plastic bag with the black stuff from the wall in the Getty.  
  
"I wonder how this stuff got on the walls,' she said out loud.  
  
Concentrating on driving, Anthony couldn't really answer her question. But he did say, "It looks like t-tar."  
  
"Yeah, it does," Dylan said, nodding. Then she shook her head. "But we need to wait until Alex looks at this stuff." She threw the bag back into the briefcase at her feet, closing the lid. She pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her jacket and settled back into the seat as Anthony flew down the freeway.  
  
Dylan  
  
"So how long is this going to take exactly?" I asked Alex.  
  
"Well," she answered. "I want to test every sample we've got. That should take at lease eighteen hours."  
  
"We going to pull an all-nighter?" Natalie asked as she helped Alex prepare the samples for the machine.  
  
"No. Luckily these machines can be left alone until the tests are done," Alex said.  
  
"Thank god for small favors," I said as Anthony and I were scanning the six shoeprints onto the computer.  
  
"Long night yesterday?" Alex asked wryly.  
  
I waved my hand in a dismissive way, not wanting to answer that particular question.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Natalie and Alex glancing at each other. Then Natalie said, "That definitely means yes." They started giggling at that.  
  
"Very funny you guys," I said, turning to them since Anthony and I had finished.  
  
"Well, at least you're not with the bad guy this time," Alex said, smiling.  
  
I got up from my chair and looked at Anthony who was rolling his eyes in exasperation. I smiled as I walked over to stand at the counter across from Natalie and Alex. "You guys need to really find something else to worry about besides Anthony's and my love life," I said, putting my chin in my hand.  
  
Natalie and Alex looked up at me and we all started to laugh. After a while, Alex took the tray with the samples and slid it into the machine.  
  
"Okay that's done," Alex said. "There's nothing that we really need to stay for."  
  
"Alright, let's get out of here Anthony," I said, pushing back from the counter.  
  
"See you two tomorrow morning," Alex said as we left the lab.  
  
"Good night!" Natalie said.  
  
"See you tomorrow," I yelled back into the lab as we walked out.  
  
Anthony  
  
Dylan sped up the Pacific Coast Highway to the restaurant they were going to get dinner at.  
  
Anthony looked out at the ocean as they drove up the coast to Malibu.  
  
"It's beautiful isn't it?" Dylan asked, seeing what he was looking at.  
  
"The ocean is beautiful too," Anthony said slowly.  
  
Dylan looked over at him and grinned. "You're sweet," she said. She pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and they got out of the car.  
  
They walked inside and stood in line to order their food.  
  
"Want to eat here or back at the house?" Dylan asked.  
  
"By the ocean," Anthony said.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea," Dylan said smiling.  
  
They got their food and went back to the car, Anthony driving to their spot next to the ocean.  
  
When they got there, Dylan climbed into the backseat and when Anthony sat next to her, she handed him his food. They then ate in silence, watching the sun drop behind the water.  
  
Dylan  
  
After we ate dinner, I let Anthony drive back to our house. "We need to do that more often," I said as we pulled into the garage and got out of the car.  
  
Nodding, Anthony locked the doors and threw the keys to me.  
  
I walked into the house and took off my jacket. "You know what," I said, turning to Anthony.  
  
"What?" he asked, smirking.  
  
"We should go to bed early tonight," I said.  
  
Anthony turned to me, pushing me up against the wall gently. "Good idea," he said, slipping a hand under my shirt and bringing his lips to mine. 


	6. VI:A Suspect Dylan and Anthony

A/N: Thanks to villianbabe, Miss Maya and Skyfire4 for all your reviews. So happy that you guys like this as much as it's prequel!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
VI  
A Suspect  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
My cell phone was ringing and I was too tired to even open my eyes.  
  
"Dylan," Anthony murmured, shaking my shoulder. "Your phone."  
  
I ignored him and buried my face into his bare chest. "Mmph," I mumbled.  
  
Shaking his head, Anthony slid out from under me and sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
I raised my head, surprised when he pulled my cell phone out of the pile of our clothes on the floor. He handed it to me and as I took it, I said, "You're no fun." I answered the phone and listened for a minute. "Okay, we'll be in."  
  
Anthony, who had gone into the closet while I was on the phone, came out already dressed.  
  
I, on the other hand, was pawing through the clothes on the floor, a sheet wrapped around my body. I could feel Anthony's gaze on me and I said, "Just because you're so neat and orderly doesn't mean I am too." I stood up and walked past him to the closet. "Especially after what we did last night."  
  
I threw on my clothes and ran into the bathroom, brushing my hair and teeth and putting on some makeup. I hurried downstairs where Anthony and I each drank a cup of coffee and we split a donut.  
  
"Ready?" I asked Anthony when we were done.  
  
He nodded and pulled on his jacket. He then helped me into my own jacket and grabbed his cane. "My car," he said to me simply.  
  
I grabbed my purse and followed him to the garage.  
  
Anthony  
  
He and Dylan walked into the Agency just as the phone on Bosley's desk rang.  
  
"Sorry!" Dylan said quickly as she sat down on the couch and Anthony sat down in his chair.  
  
"Good morning Angels and Anthony," Charlie said when Bosley turned the speakerphone on.  
  
"Good morning Charlie," Natalie, Alex and I said.  
  
"Good morning," Anthony then said softly.  
  
"What have you been able to find out so far?" Charlie asked.  
  
Dylan began by explaining how she and Anthony had visited the different hardware stores before going to the Getty.  
  
"They didn't have anyone buying the amount of tools that the police had on the list," Dylan was saying.  
  
"Maybe they bought all the stuff at different hardware stores," Natalie said.  
  
"If that's true, then that means there is a group involved, not one person," Alex said.  
  
"What did you find at the Getty?" Charlie asked.  
  
Alex talked to Charlie about the black substance that was found on the wall and the footprints they also found.  
  
"When will the samples be done?" Bosley asked.  
  
"In an hour or so," Alex answered, looking at her watch.  
  
"I think that you should head over to the lab and concentrate on the footprints, the samples from the walls and the security tapes," Charlie said.  
  
Dylan  
  
I paced around the lab, waiting for Alex to get the program running on the computer.  
  
"Okay, its ready Dylan," she said. "Just remember that you're looking for the top half of a shoe print in each database."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know Alex," I said as I sat in front of the computer. I glanced over at Anthony and grinned at him as he stood next to me.  
  
"How much longer will this machine take Alex?" Natalie asked from across the room.  
  
There was a buzzing noise and Alex said, "It's done. Nat, get some gloves so you can help me file these away."  
  
While they were doing that, I was looking through the FBI, CIA and state databases. Through Charlie's connections, we were able to look through all the databases on our computer.  
  
I hated doing this, since it took a long time for the computer to go through each database. While waiting for the computer, I picked up a pencil and started scratching some stuff on the pad of paper next to my hand.  
  
"Careful Nat! You almost dropped the dish!" Alex cried out behind us.  
  
I turned around to see Natalie putting a Petri dish down on the counter.  
  
"Sorry," she muttered at Alex. She then looked over at me and grinned sheepishly.  
  
I let out a little giggle, when Anthony tapped my shoulder. I turned back to the computer and saw that it had made a match with one of the footprints.  
  
"Let's see," I said, reading the screen. "'Jacob Norris.'"  
  
"Find anything?" Natalie asked, standing on the other side of me.  
  
"I thought you were helping Alex?" I replied.  
  
"I almost dropped the dish again, so I offered to help you," Natalie answered.  
  
Holding back a laugh, I clicked the print button on the computer. "Well, I don't really need help," I said standing up from the chair. "I've found a match to one of the shoeprints." I grabbed the papers from the printer and read them. I whistled and then handed them to Natalie. "Look at this guy's criminal record."  
  
While Natalie read the papers, Anthony had picked up the next paper that came out of the printer. It was a photograph of Jacob Norris. Anthony grabbed my arm and said, "I know him."  
  
"You do?" Natalie asked, glancing at the picture.  
  
"Who is he?" I asked.  
  
"Hired thief," Anthony answered.  
  
"You mean people hire him to rob places?" I asked.  
  
Anthony nodded his head.  
  
"Wow, then that would explain his criminal record," Natalie said.  
  
"Guys," Alex called to us apprehensively.  
  
We all turned to her. "What's wrong?" Natalie asked. She walked over to Alex, Anthony and I following her.  
  
"The black stuff, it's." Alex started to say. "It's a mixture of cocaine, marijuana, PCP and LSD."  
  
"What!" Natalie exclaimed.  
  
I took the piece of paper that Alex was holding and read it, looking over my shoulder. "Oh my god," I murmured, looking up at Alex.  
  
She looked at me, and I was sure the shock and dismay on her face was on mine too. "This is very bad," she said. 


	7. VII:Black Ice Dylan

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. I got the idea to name the drug in here after the Michael Connelly book, 'The Black Ice.' I did make up what is in black ice though.  
  
VII  
Black Ice  
Dylan  
  
"Wait, why is it bad?" Natalie asked.  
  
"That black stuff is a new drug called 'Black Ice,'" Alex explained.  
  
"But wouldn't a combination of those drugs cause death?" Natalie asked, confused.  
  
"No. There isn't that much of each drug to begin with," I said. "But since there's LSD and marijuana in it, it's a very powerful hallucinogenic. And it's getting more and more popular with wealthy people since Black Ice is so expensive to make and buy."  
  
"How is it taken?" Natalie then asked.  
  
"I don't know. Dylan?" Alex asked me.  
  
I shook my head and said, "It's really new."  
  
Alex sighed as I handed the paper back to her. "On another topic, what did you find with the shoeprints?" she asked.  
  
"There was only one match to one of the prints," I said as Natalie gave Alex Norris' criminal record. "A man named Jacob Norris."  
  
"Look at this. At least thirty robberies that the police were able to pin on him," Alex said when she read the paper. "And this guy's only twenty four!"  
  
"I know," I said. "There was a picture of him, here." I took the photograph from Anthony and handed it to Alex.  
  
Alex looked at it and nodded. "We can look for him in the security tapes," she said.  
  
"Anthony said he was a professional thief," Natalie said.  
  
"Have you met him?" Alex asked, looking at Anthony.  
  
Shaking his head, Anthony answered, "I only saw him once. At a client's house."  
  
"You have a good memory," Alex murmured. Then she walked out of the room saying, "Let's head into the Tech Lab, we'll look at the tapes now."  
  
The rest of us followed her, Natalie and me taking off the white lab coats we had been wearing over our clothes.  
  
"Now, I think that these tapes are of the whole day of the robbery," Alex said. "Two are from building two, the others from building three."  
  
"Where were the cameras?" Natalie asked as Alex handed her a tape.  
  
"Luckily for us, these tapes will show four of the five paintings that were stolen," she answered. "There shouldn't be too much during the night hours, so just concentrate on when the museum was open." She gave Anthony and me two tapes and then went to a cubicle.  
  
The Tech Lab was a spacious room that had three small TVs hooked up to computers. Each TV and computer was in its own cubicle so we didn't bother one another when we worked.  
  
As I turned on the TV and put the tape in the VCR, Anthony dragged over a chair and put it next to me.  
  
"Give this to Alex," I said to him before he could sit.  
  
He took the picture from me and I waited until he came back to start the tape.  
  
The screen was divided into four sections and when it started, each part was empty except for a few guards and a cleaning crew walking by.  
  
I looked at the time on the screen and saw that it was an hour before the museum opened. I pressed fast forward until o group of people appeared in one of the sections. I pressed play and then sat back in my chair, waiting to see if Norris would show up.  
  
After a while, Anthony pressed pause on the TV and pointed to a person in the lower left screen.  
  
It was Norris.  
  
He was in the middle of the room, looking at one of the paintings that would be stolen.  
  
I wrote down the time on the paper I had with me, and then I pressed play again.  
  
It took a long time to go through both tapes that Alex had given us. When I wrote down the last time that Norris was on the tape, I looked over at the clock. It was one in the afternoon.  
  
"Are you two done?" Natalie asked, walking over to our cubicle.  
  
"Yeah, did you see Norris in your tape?" I asked.  
  
"Just a few times," Natalie answered.  
  
"Guys," Alex called to us. "This tape is from yesterdays recording."  
  
We all walked over to her cubicle.  
  
"It is yesterday, look at the date," Natalie said, pointing to the screen.  
  
"There's Norris," I said, surprised.  
  
"He went back to the crime scene?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Some criminals do that," Alex said. "It gives them a sense of pride to return to the scene and see what they accomplished."  
  
"So we know a few things about Norris now," I said.  
  
"What's that?" Natalie said.  
  
"He's a p-professional thief," Anthony said.  
  
"That and he's well off. How else could he get Black Ice if he doesn't have the money and the connections to high class people," I said. "And we know he goes back to the buildings where the paintings were."  
  
Alex, Natalie and I all looked at each other for a few moments before Alex spoke up.  
  
"Looks like we need to go undercover at the Getty tomorrow," she said.  
  
We decided that Anthony and I would go to the museum the next day, disguised as a wealthy couple from San Francisco, in the market for Black Ice.  
  
Once we had all the details worked out, we left the lab so we could get the clothing we would need for the next day at the warehouse.  
  
Alex would be a tourist too, but she would stay in the other buildings until we were done. She would be wearing an outfit from home and a wig of light brown hair.  
  
Natalie was going to be working in the Children's gift shop that was in building three. She called the museum and arranged it so she could work there for the next day. She was going to wear a shirt that we had from the museum, but no wig.  
  
I would have to wear a blouse and skirt that looked like they cost more that half of the clothes in my closet combined. Then I had to wear a wig which had short black hair. Along with that, I would be wearing contacts that made my eyes brown.  
  
Anthony was going to wear a black Armani suit that Alex had found in the back of all the men's suits we had. He would also be wearing a wig of bleach-blonde hair that was very short. He had to wear contacts too, but he only would wear one so he would have one blue eye and one green eye.  
  
"Well, it looks like we're all set," Alex said, putting her wig into the trunk of her car.  
  
"What time do you want us to be in the parking lot?" Natalie asked.  
  
"At nine thirty on the third level," Alex answered.  
  
I closed the trunk of Anthony's car and said, "We'll see you guys tomorrow." I got into the passenger seat and Anthony started the car and drove off towards home. 


	8. VIII:Meeting Norris Anthony and Dylan

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the Getty Museum.  
  
VIII  
Meeting Norris  
Anthony and Dylan  
  
He pulled on the jacket of his suit as Dylan ran from the closet and into the bathroom. They had both woken up later then they had wanted; and now they had to hurry to get to the Getty on time.  
  
"Anthony," Dylan called from the bathroom. "Come here and I'll help you with your contact lens."  
  
He walked into the bathroom where Dylan was putting in her second contact. "What about your hair?" he asked, seeing that her hair was still loose around her shoulders.  
  
"After I put your contact and help you with your wig," Dylan said absent mindedly. She took Anthony's green contact out of its case and put some solution on it. "Luckily Alex knows how t mix a solution so the contacts won't dry out," she said as Anthony took the lens and placed it on his left eye.  
  
He blinked a few times to get used to the lens covering his eye. When he got accustomed to it, he looked at the mirror and was surprised to see the way his eyes looked.  
  
"I think they look great," Dylan said, looking at him in the mirror.  
  
Anthony turned to her and kissed her softly on the lips.  
  
"Okay," Dylan said, smiling, when he pulled back from her. Slick back your hair and then I'll help you with the wig."  
  
It took only ten minutes for Anthony to gel his hair and then put the wig on.  
  
With Anthony finished, Dylan quickly put her hair up and placed the wig on her head.  
  
Dylan  
  
We managed to get to the parking structure at the Getty right at nine- thirty. I parked my car and then Anthony and I hurried to the third level.  
  
"Hey, just in time you guys," Natalie said to us as we got into the back seat of Alex's car.  
  
"You're lucky we got here on time Alex," I said when Anthony shut the car door. "Traffic was a bitch."  
  
"Okay, I've got our mikes and ear pieces here," Alex then said as if she hadn't even heard me talk. "Now Dylan, you'll have to get Norris' attention by making the gesture that Ice addicts make."  
  
"What's that?" I asked.  
  
"It's just a quick rub of the index finger and thumb," Alex said, showing me.  
  
"Shouldn't Anthony do it too?" I asked, copying the motion a couple of times.  
  
"Yeah, he should Alex," Natalie said as she took off her coat. "That way Norris will talk to both of them."  
  
"Okay, okay," Alex said. "Now before we go, is everyone clear on what they're going to do?"  
  
"Yes," Natalie, Anthony and I all said in one voice.  
  
"Then let's go," Alex said.  
  
With that we all got out of the car and walked out of the building.  
  
Anthony  
  
They had been walking through building two for an hour and a half, and they hadn't seen Norris yet.  
  
"What if he doesn't show up?" Dylan murmured.  
  
"Then we'll have to try Plan B," Alex answered. "In the meantime, keep acting like you guys are a married couple okay."  
  
Dylan looked at Anthony and rolled her eyes. Then she said, "Come on, let's keep walking."  
  
Anthony nodded and put his arm around her waist and led her down the hallway to another room of paintings.  
  
"Guys, the bird's come back to nest," Natalie said in their ear pieces. "Just passed me, talking about going to the snack cart in the courtyard."  
  
"We're gone," Dylan said into her mike. She then took Anthony's hand and they left the building, walking into the courtyard.  
  
Dylan  
  
Anthony and I were standing in line at the snack cart; Norris was right ahead of us. I realized something and tapped out a message in morose code on Anthony's palm. "I'll mention Ice out loud since he won't see us do the movement with our fingers," I tapped.  
  
He nodded slightly and then spoke. "What do you want?"  
  
"I told you that I wanted some Ice," I said to him exasperatingly.  
  
"But I told you that I don't know where to get it here," Anthony said a little angrily.  
  
I looked at Norris, he seemed to hear us, but before I could reply to Anthony, he went to a cash register and got a coffee. When another cash register was free, Anthony and I walked over to it and I ordered two coffees for us.  
  
When we got our drinks, we left the cart and were about to get cream and sugar when Norris stepped up to us.  
  
"I couldn't help but overhear you talking in line," he said, smiling at us. "Are you looking for a place to purchase the drug 'Black Ice?'?"  
  
"Do you have some?" I asked eagerly, rubbing my index finger and thumb quickly.  
  
"Come with me, we need a little more privacy," Norris said. He turned and walked across the courtyard, going down some steps towards the gardens next to building three.  
  
As we walked along the paths of the garden next to a waterfall, Norris introduced himself as J.Y.  
  
"Most people just call me Jay," he told us.  
  
"I'm Billy O'Kelly and this is my wife, Velma," Anthony said.  
  
"Nice to meet you both," Norris said. "Now about the 'Black Ice,' I can get you into a party where the stuff will be sold." He reached into his jacket and pulled out two tickets, handing them to Anthony.  
  
I looked down at the tickets and said, "A costume party in the middle of November?"  
  
"It's better than not having one at all Mrs. O'Kelly," Norris said, smiling at me.  
  
I was a little disturbed by the way he was looking at me, but I forced myself to smile and nod my head.  
  
"I hope to see you both there and don't forget to bring your money," Norris said. He picked an ugly looking yellow flower from the bush next to him and handed it to me saying, "Good bye Mrs. O'Kelly, Mr. O'Kelly." With that, he turned and left the gardens.  
  
"Looks like we're going to a party guys," I said into my mike, tossing the flower aside.  
  
"Meet back at my car so we can get everything ready," Alex replied.  
  
"See you there," I said, then I took Anthony's hand and we walked out of the garden and then over to the trolley. 


	9. IX:A Startling Revelation D & A

Discalimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or it's characters.  
  
IX  
  
A Startling Revelation  
  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
The next afternoon, the four of us were in the clothing warehouse to get the costumes that Anthony and I would wear to the party that was later that night.  
  
  
  
"There are so many possibilities for you two to wear!" Natalie squealed as she looked through the computer at the front of the building.  
  
  
  
"Are you sure that you guys will be okay in the house without me and Nat?" Alex asked me.  
  
  
  
"Don't worry Alex," I said to her comfortingly. "We'll have our molar mikes so you'll be able to hear what goes on."  
  
  
  
"Dylan, I've got your guys' costumes," Natalie called out. "Anthony, come over here and put yours on first."  
  
  
  
As Anthony walked over to the aisle where Natalie was, I called out, "Better hope she doesn't give you a devil costume."  
  
  
  
Anthony turned to me at that and gave me an annoyed look.  
  
  
  
I started to laugh and a few seconds later, Alex joined in with me.  
  
Anthony  
  
  
"Well I have to say, he does look good Nat," Alex said.  
  
  
  
"I know, when I saw this, I knew it was perfect for him," Natalie said as she looked over the costume, making sure it fit.  
  
  
  
The costume that Natalie had picked out for Anthony was a dark gray three piece pinstripe suit with a dark red tie.  
  
  
  
Anthony was looking into the mirror in front of him as Natalie put on his blonde wig. He had already put in his green contact lens earlier. As he was looking at his reflection, he realized that the outfit suited him really well. But he was confused about one thing. "Who am  
  
I?" he asked Natalie.  
  
  
  
"Billy Flynn from the movie 'Chicago,'" she answered, holding a hat out to him.  
  
  
  
He refused the hat and said, "Thank you for choosing the costume."  
  
  
  
Natalie was about to reply when the sound of heeled shoes interrupted her.  
  
  
  
"You and the movie Chicago, Nat," Dylan said exasperatingly as she walked up to them.  
  
  
  
"Ooo, it looks wonderful!" Natalie squealed, clapping her hands.  
  
  
  
Dylan was wearing a flapper type dress that had a skirt of beaded strings instead of fabric. The dress was white with blue beads on the bodice and some on the skirt.  
  
  
  
Alex whistled low and said, "You're really going to look like Velma Kelly with your wig and contacts Dylan."  
  
  
  
"I think that's what Nat had in mind," Dylan replied wryly. She then turned to Anthony and smiled. "He looks a lot like Billy Flynn, great job Nat," she said.  
  
  
  
"Thanks," Natalie answered.  
  
  
  
"You look beautiful," Anthony said softly.  
  
  
  
"And you look great," Dylan answered, smiling.  
  
"Hey guys, time to get moving," Alex said from behind them.  
  
Dylan  
  
  
Anthony and I walked into the room where the party was being held arm in arm. The directions on the tickets had led us to a mansion on a hill across from the Getty.  
  
  
  
When we had given our tickets to the guard at the door, he had told us that Norris was inside waiting for us.  
  
  
  
Anthony saw him first at the bar that was set up on the other side of the room.  
  
  
  
We walked over to him and Anthony tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
  
  
"Oh, hello you two," Norris said, turning around. "Well you look a lot like those two from the movie." He gave a high-pitched laugh and it was obvious that he was drunk. "Excuse me. Now where are my  
  
manners? Would you guys like a drink? My treat."  
  
  
  
"No thanks," I said quickly. "We were wondering, Jay, if we could get our Ice?"  
  
  
  
"Of course, of course!" Norris said, standing up. "Business first and then playtime eh?" He laughed again and clapped a hand on Anthony's shoulder. "Just follow me." He walked past the bar and  
  
then along the wall, putting a hand out for support. At a white door, he stopped and motioned for us to follow him inside.  
  
  
  
We walked in, closing the door behind us. We had come into a long hallway that had a lot of different colored doors.  
  
  
  
Norris had stopped in front of a door and waited for us to walk over to him. "This is the room where my dad does all his Ice dealings," he said. Then he opened the door and went inside.  
  
  
  
I looked over at Anthony and said, "His father?"  
  
  
  
He shrugged and motioned for me to go into the room.  
  
  
  
I walked in and was surprised to see that the room was a library. Every wall had a black bookcase filled with books. The windows and doors were the only places in the walls that didn't have bookshelves.  
  
  
  
"Father, I've got the two new customers here," Norris said.  
  
  
  
A tall man with short black hair and light brown eyes stood up and looked me and Anthony over. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. O'Kelly," he said, sitting back down in his armchair. "The shipment  
  
of Ice hasn't arrived yet, so please, have a seat while you wait."  
  
  
  
I walked over to the black leather love seat that was in a circle with ten armchairs and I sat down.  
  
  
  
As Anthony sat down next to me, a man in the armchair across from us asked, "Please continue with the story about your eldest daughter."  
  
  
  
Norris' father lit a cigar and smiled. "Ah yes, my long lost daughter," he said. "Well you see, when I was younger, I was an arrogant punk running around the streets. I was a drug dealer from the time I was seventeen until I got caught and put into jail.  
  
  
  
"When I got out I was twenty one," Norris' father continued. "I moved in with my aunt and uncle in Ontario in the valley and I got a job as a cashier at a convenience store. After a month at the store,  
  
a beautiful young woman came into the shop while I was working.  
  
  
  
"I managed to follow her out of the store and I offered to walk her home, which was a block from the store. Before she went inside the house, I managed to get her to agree to go out with me the next night. We sent steady for a while and then about four months after we met, she told me she was three months pregnant with our kid, a girl. I got out of there as fast as I could, taking a ship to Hawaii and I never came back here until three years ago."  
  
  
  
"Who was the woman?" another man in one of the chairs asked.  
  
  
  
"Let's see," Norris' father said, tapping his chin with his finger. "Ah yes. It was Lily, Lily Zaas." 


	10. X:Forgetting Dylan

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or it's characters. I only own the character Jacob (Jay) Norris and his dad.  
  
  
X  
  
Forgetting  
  
Dylan  
  
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, I went into a state of shock.  
  
  
  
Lily Zaas had been my mother. So that meant that the man who was sitting in the maroon chair, smoking a cigar, was my father.  
  
  
  
I saw my hand grip Anthony's arm tightly and I felt my face grow pale.  
  
  
  
Looking over at me, Anthony understood that Lily Zaas had been my mother and he saw that I was in a state of shock. Standing up and pulling me with him, he nodded to everyone and said, "I'm sorry, but  
  
my wife isn't feeling well. We need to leave."  
  
The men nodded, but the man who was my father looked at me closely. "Well I hope that she'll feel better soon," she said.  
  
Anthony turned me towards the door and we started walking to it when Norris stopped us.  
  
"If it's possible, try and come back tomorrow," Norris said. "To get your Ice."  
  
Without turning around, Anthony nodded and led me out of the room.  
  
We walked through the house and out the front door. Down the street, we stopped next to Alex's car where she and Natalie were sitting.  
  
"Dylan, is what that guy said true?" Natalie asked when they got out of the car and stood next to me.  
  
I said nothing. I wasn't able to form coherent words at that point. And even if I could speak, I didn't want to discuss the fact that my father had resurfaced after all these years.  
  
  
  
"Dylan," Alex said to me softly. She put her hands on my cheeks and looked into my eyes. "I think you should take her home Anthony. She looks like she's in shock."  
  
"Okay," Anthony said. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me over to his car, which was parked in front of Alex's.  
  
"We'll call you tomorrow to see how she's doing," Natalie called out as Anthony helped me sit down in the passenger seat.  
  
I remember nothing about the drive home. All I could remember is the seat belt pressing against the beaded bodice of my dress. The next thing I felt was Anthony's hand around my waist, helping me walk up  
  
the stairs to our room.  
  
  
  
Once inside, he sat me down on the bed and pulled off my high heeled shoes. Then he sat next to me and carefully took the contacts out of my eyes. After that, he took off the wig and let down my hair. After  
  
setting the wig on the dresser, Anthony looked at me for a moment before disappearing into the bathroom.  
  
A lock of my hair fell into my eyes, and a bead of sweat dropped from the hair and into my eye, stinging it. I gasped out loud, it had all come back to me.  
  
  
  
My mother was dead but my father was alive. And he was a drug dealer.  
  
"Dylan?" Anthony said, hurrying into the room. He had taken the contact and wig off and his hair was loose around his head.  
  
I looked up at him, then I stood up from the bed. I threw myself at him, beads clacking furiously, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I then place my forehead on his neck and I started sobbing. I cried for  
  
myself, having to find out about my father the way I did. But I mostly cried for my mother, who had been abandoned by the man she had loved.  
  
Anthony held me tightly, pressing his lips to my forehead softly. Once in a while, he murmured a few comforting words.  
  
After a while, I managed to stop crying and I looked up at Anthony. "It hurts so much," I said to him, and a few tears fell down my cheeks.  
  
Cupping my face with his hands, Anthony kissed each tear off my cheeks. Then he kissed me softly on the lips.  
  
When he pulled away from me, I looked up at him and said, "I need you to do something for me Anthony."  
  
"What?" he asked me simply.  
  
"I need to forget. Help me forget what happened earlier," I explained. Then I dropped my voice to a whisper. "Just help me forget for tonight."  
  
  
  
He looked down at me for a few seconds before lifting me up into his arms and carrying me over to the bed. Anthony lay me down on the bed and then sat down on the edge next to me like he usually did. But  
  
instead of kissing me, he ran his fingers through my hair, fanning it out on the pillow.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
"The zipper," he answered.  
  
"Oh, sorry," I said, sitting up.  
  
Anthony smiled and wrapped his arms around my back, kissing me deeply.  
  
I held onto his shoulders, returning the kiss with all the passion I could manage. As Anthony began to unzip the zipper, I could feel myself relax and forget everything except for Anthony as he started to  
  
undress me.  
  
He stopped the kiss to pull the dress off my shoulders and then over my head, throwing the dress over on the ground. Once that was done, he quickly took off the rest of my clothing until I was naked.  
  
  
  
I slid under the covers quickly and then I reached out to start to take off Anthony's clothes.  
  
  
  
When that was done, he joined me under the sheets and then kissed me deeply.  
  
"Thank you for helping me Anthony. I love you so much," I whispered to him just before we started to make love.  
  
I opened my eyes the next morning and found myself draped on top of Anthony's body. I looked up at him and saw that he was awake, watching me. "Morning," I said, smiling.  
  
"Morning, he whispered back. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Tired from you keeping me up until three last night," I said slyly. "But other than that I'm feeling much better." I then realized that the room was cold and I shivered slightly.  
  
"Cold?" Anthony asked me. Before I could answer, he reached down and covered us both with the comforter as the the sheets were in a tangle at the bottom of the bed.  
  
I had moved from being on top of him to laying next to Anthony, my head on his chest. "What time is it?" I asked.  
  
"Eleven," Anthony answered.  
  
"Did Alex or Natalie call?" I asked, raising my head slightly.  
  
He nodded, then said, "They told Charlie what happened yesterday. He gave both of us the day off."  
  
I sighed and lay my head back on Anthony's shoulder.  
  
After laying there in silence for a while, Anthony said to me, "You have a family now."  
  
"Yeah, my father; the drug dealer," I snorted.  
  
"And N-norris, your half brother," Anthony pointed out.  
  
"Oh my god," I said, sitting up, not noticing that the comforter had fallen off my body. "I have a family!" 


	11. XI:A Brief Respite D & A

A/N: This chapter isn't too good, readers; hope that you aren't too harsh in your reviews readers!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or it's characters. Nor do I own Knott's Berry Farm.  
  
XI  
  
A Brief Respite  
  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
Later on that day, I was straightening up the room before Anthony and I left the house. I picked up my dress from the night before and sighed. "Great, the beads are all tangled together," I said. "Natalie is going to kill me." I sat down on the bed and started to try and loosen the beads from each other.  
  
  
  
"Do that later," Anthony said from the doorway where he had been standing. "Let's go."  
  
  
  
"Alright, whatever you say," I said happily, throwing the dress back onto the bed. I stood up and grabbed my coat, pulling it on as I followed Anthony to my car.  
  
Anthony  
  
  
They had decided to drive down the 5 Freeway until six, when they would return home. Anthony would be driving down and then they would switch places before they returned.  
  
  
  
As they drove, Anthony glanced over at Dylan, who was staring out her open window.  
  
  
  
"I'm fine Anthony," she said, looking at him. "It's just going to take me a while to get used to it."  
  
  
  
Nodding, Anthony saw a sign for the 57 Freeway and he swerved across two lanes to get onto it.  
  
"Where are you going?" Dylan asked, confused as they got onto the freeway.  
  
"Somewhere else," Anthony said simply.  
  
Still looking confused, Dylan nodded and settled back against the seat, letting Anthony drive them to their destination.  
  
Dylan  
  
I was surprised when Anthony drove into the entrance of Knott's Berry Farm, and amusement park. "Knott's?" I asked him.  
  
He ignored me and followed the cars in front of us into the parking lot. Then he put the cover on my car and got out.  
  
I got out too, still amazed that he had brought us here.  
  
As we walked to the ticket booths, Anthony took my hand and said, "Natalie and Alex said I should bring you here since this is your favorite am-amu-" Stopping, he shook his head in frustration and looked down at me.  
  
"A-muse-ment," I said slowly to him.  
  
"Amusem-ment," Anthony said carefully.  
  
"Yeah, that's right," I said, kissing his cheek quickly. "When did they tell you that?" I then asked.  
  
"This morning," Anthony said.  
  
I was about to ask another question when we reached the ticket booth and bought our tickets to go inside.  
  
Once we were inside the park, Anthony turned to me and said, "Wherever you want to go."  
  
I smiled happily and grabbed his hand, pulling him off to the side, down a path towards the rides. "Will you go on the rides with me?" I asked him as we walked hurriedly.  
  
He nodded and said, "Why do you think I wore this today?" He had on black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt instead of his usual suit.  
  
"Good," I said. Then I dragged him over to the line for Montezuma's Revenge.  
  
Anthony  
  
At the end of the day as they walked out of the park, Anthony felt exhausted. He and Dylan had gone on almost every ride in the park, leaving out the water rides since it was cold. Even though the day had been tiring, Anthony was glad to see that Dylan was happier than she had been all day.  
  
"Do you want me to drive home?" Dylan asked as Anthony stifled a yawn.  
  
"Please," Anthony said.  
  
As Dylan put the top of the car down, she said, "I had a great time, thanks for bringing me."  
  
Anthony smiled and reached over, squeezing her hand quickly. Then he settled back on the seat as Dylan started the car and left the parking lot.  
  
Dylan  
  
There was very little traffic on the freeways, so we got back to the house pretty quickly.  
  
"I need to give Alex a call," I said to Anthony when we walked into the house.  
  
He nodded and walked into the kitchen, getting something to drink.  
  
I took out my cell phone and dialed Alex's number.  
  
"Hello," she said when she picked up the phone.  
  
"Hey Alex, it's me," I said, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch.  
  
"Oh, hey. How was Knott's?" she asked.  
  
"It was great. Anthony and I had a lot of fun," I answered.  
  
"He went on the rides with you?' Alex asked, surprised.  
  
"Yeah," I said. Then I changed the subject. "So what's our plan for tomorrow?"  
  
"We'll need to get that Ice form Norris and test it to see if it's the same as the Ice we found at the Getty," Alex answered.  
  
"Anthony and I can do that when we finish meeting with Charlie," I said.  
  
"Dylan..." Alex began hesitantly. "Do you think that you'll be okay if you go there and see your dad?"  
  
I sighed and was quiet for a moment, thinking. "I'm going to have to forget about him," I said. "He hurt my mom and me, so he doesn't deserve to know who I am."  
  
"Okay, if you're sure about that Dylan," Alex said.  
  
"I definitely am," I answered.  
  
"Ok, I'll see you guys tomorrow at the office," Alex said.  
  
"Bye Alex," I said. I hung up the phone and got up off the couch. When I turned to the doorway, I was surprised to see Anthony standing in the doorway. "Feel like going out to get a bite to eat?" I asked him.  
  
He shook his head and walked over to me. When he reached me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, kissing me deeply. He started walking back and pushing me towards the couch.  
  
When the back of my legs hit the couch, I lowered myself onto it, pulling Anthony down with me.  
  
Anthony moved from lips and then down my chin to my neck.  
  
I moaned suddenly when I felt him start to suck on the skin where my neck and shoulder met. "Anthony," I whispered after a while. "Let's go up to the bed, now."  
  
Nodding, he got up and then helped me stand up. He wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me close. Together we then walked up the stairs and into our room, closing the door behind us. 


	12. XII:Suspects or Family? Dylan

A/N: Big thanks and a hello to Yessina. Thank you for your review and welcome to my ff, glad that you are enjoying it so far.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XII  
  
Suspects or Family?  
  
Dylan  
  
The nex day at nine, the four of us were in the office, telling Ryder what we had found out so far. We left out the part about finding suspects, so we could ask him about the Black Ice first.  
  
  
  
"Mr. Ryder," natalie began. "Do any of your employees take the drug called Black Ice?"  
  
"Not that I know of," Ryder said. He paused for a few moments before adding, "Ms. Crown, I believe, took the drug a couple of times. At least that's what she told me."  
  
Natalie and I looked at Alex, who ignored us.  
  
"Why do you ask?" Ryder asked with a confused look on his face.  
  
"On each wall where a painting was stolen," Alex explained. "There was a smudge of Black Ice."  
  
"Really?" Ryder asked. "Oh, well I hope you're not going to suspect Caty." He saw our questioning looks and said, "She's my fiancee and I doubt she'd be involved in this robbery."  
  
"How can you be so sure?" I asked him.  
  
"She loves the museum as much as I do," Ryder said a little angrily. "And she was devastated when we heard about the robbery."  
  
"You live together?" Natalie asked.  
  
"We do," Ryder said.  
  
"Where was she the night of the robbery?" Alex then asked.  
  
"She was at a friend's house," Ryder answered. "Our friends, Frank and Paige Newman just had a baby. Caty went over there that night to help Paige with the baby."  
  
"Where do the Newmans live?" Alex asked.  
  
Ryder sighed and then took a pad of paper from his jacket. Borrowing a pen from Bosley, he wrote something on the paper before handing it to Alex. "Is there anything else that you need from me?" he asked.  
  
"Have you ever heard of a man named Jacob Norris?" I asked. "He sometimes goes by the nickname Jay."  
  
"Yeah, I have," Ryder said, surprising us all. "I met him at a party in Oahu four years ago. He seemed really interested in the museum and where the buildings were on the property."  
  
"So it looks like we have a suspect Angels," Charlie said from the speakerphone once Ryder had left. "Norris is the most promising lead."  
  
"Don't forget his father," Natalie pointed out.  
  
"And Ms. Crown," I said quickly. "We need to go to the Newmans and see if she really was there the night of the robbery."  
  
"I believe that Natalie and Alex should handle that," Charlie said. "Dylan and Anthony, you two need to pick up the Black Ice at Norris' father's mansion. Time to get to work Angels."  
  
We all stood up to leave, when Charlie's voice stopped us.  
  
"Dylan, I'd like to speak to you alone for moment before you go," Charlie said.  
  
"Oh, ok," I said, startled. I looked over at Natalie and Alex. who shrugged at me. I sat back down on the couch and waited for everyone to leave so Charlie could talk to me.  
  
"Now Dylan," Charlie began. "I'm aware of what happened the other night at the party. And I'm very sorry that you had to find that out the way you did."  
  
"It's not your fault Charlie," I said.  
  
"Nor is it your fault that your father left your mother," Charlie said. "I have been thinking about the fact that you are related to our two main suspects Dylan. And if you want to, you make take on another case until this one is done."  
  
It was a very tempting offer. I would have loved to concentrate on else instead of my father and half brother. But I know that if I didn't finish this case, I would become distracted. "Thanks for offering Charlie," I said. "But I think I should stick this one out."  
  
"I thought that you might say that Dylan," Charlie said, sounding pleased. "But if there is ever a time where you cannot continue investigating this case, let me know. Alright?"  
  
"I will Charlie," I answered.  
  
"Good. You can go now Dylan," Charlie said. "Good luck today."  
  
"Thank you Charlie," I said. I stood up and then walked out of the office.  
  
"You all done in there?" Bosley asked me.  
  
"Yeah Bos," I said to him.  
  
He hurried past me and into the office.  
  
I walked out of the building and then over to Anthony's car. I got into the passenger side seat as he started the car.  
  
"Where are we going?" he asked.  
  
"The warehouse," I said. "We've got to put back the costumes and get our clothes to go to the mansion."  
  
Anthony nodded and pulled away from the curb, heading for the warehouse.  
  
In the warehouse, once I had finished hanging our costumes, I helped Anthony grab a suit for that day. Then while he went to the front and changed. I got my outfit and changed into it.  
  
Natalie had told me what to wear, since I probably would have probably worn pants and a blouse. I was wearing a silky light blue skirt that was wide and went down to the middle of my calves. The blouse I put on was black had long sleeves and a Chinese collar. There was a pattern of geometric symbols on the blouse in light blue thread. I put on white stockings and then slipped on a pair of Mary Jane shoes, completing my outfit.  
  
I walked to the front of the warehouse where Anthony was waiting for me.  
  
He was wearing a black three piece suit with a light blue tie that matched his eyes and the color of my skirt. He had already put on his green contact and was holding his wig in his hands.  
  
I gave him a smile before quickly putting in my contacts and putting my black haired wig on my head. With that done, I went over to Anthony and helped put the wig on his head.  
  
Just before we left, I had Anthony stand in front of me so I could make sure he looked alright. I brushed some dust off his shoulder and straightened his tie a little before I nodded in approval. I breathed in deeply and said, "Let's get going."  
  
Anthony took my hand in his and squeezed it. "Maybe you won't see him," he said, knowing I was nervous about seeing my father.  
  
"I'll still see my brother though," I pointed out. Then I shook my head. "Never mind, as long as they're suspects, they're not my family," I said.  
  
Nodding and giving me a concerned look, Anthony put his hands on my shoulders and kissed my forehead softly.  
  
I closed my eyes, taking comfort in the warmth that swept through my body when he did that.  
  
He then rested his forehead against mine and we stood there for a few moments. Then Anthony pulled back and asked me softly, "Ready?"  
  
I nodded and we left the warehouse, heading for Norris' mansion. 


	13. XIII:Tea, Ice and Roses D & A

A/N: Big thank you to kushelkitten and villianbabe for your reviews of the last chapter.  
  
A/N #2: This chapter isn't too good since I was really tired while I was writting it. But I hope you will enjoy it anyway.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own Necco waffers, which get mentioned here. Also I made up the flower color at the end of the chapter.  
  
XIII  
  
Tea, Ice and Roses  
  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
A servant opened the door to the mansion and allowed us inside. "Mr. Norris is expecting you in the greenhouse," the man said, closing the door once we had stepped into the foyer. "Follow me please." He turned and walked down a hallway to the left of us.  
  
Anthony and I followed him, looking around as we did so.  
  
The house was lavishly decorated with art from several different eras. One room we passed and looked into had paintings from the Italian Renaissance and antique furniture that looked like it was from the same time period.  
  
"Are the furnishings in that room authentic?" I asked the servant.  
  
"They are ma'am," the man answered. He came to a door that led to the backyard and he opened it, letting us go out first. "Mr. Norris traveled throughout Europe to acquire most of the furniture and art in the house." He turned and then led us down to the large greenhouse that was in the middle of the expansive backyard.  
  
Anthony  
  
The servant announced them to Norris' father once they had entered the greenhouse.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. O'Kelly," Norris' father said once the servant had left. "It's a pleasure to see you both again."  
  
"We're happy to be here," Anthony said.  
  
"Yes, of course you are," Norris' father said. "Now I know your names, but you don't know mine. I'm Edward Norris." He held his hand out to Anthony, who shook it quickly, then to Dylan, who hesitated for a moment before taking the offered hand and shaking it.  
  
"Zachary, the man who brought you here, is going to get your Ice," Norris said. "While you wait, would you care to have some iced tea with me?"  
  
"That would be nice," Dylan said with an obvious forced smile.  
  
"Follow me then," Norris said. He led them down a stone path towards a little clearing with a table and four chair in the middle.  
  
Anthony and Dylan sat down across from Norris. While he poured the tea, they glanced around at the trees and plants that were surrounding the clearing. Anthony spied some blue roses and made a note of it for later.  
  
Dylan  
  
Norris gave me a glass with iced tea first.  
  
I took a little sip and then put the glass back on the table in front of me. I wasn't thirsty at all.  
  
"So, how long have you two been married?" Norris asked when he had finished pouring the tea for Anthony and himself.  
  
"A year and a half this past July," I said quickly, glancing over at Anthony. I saw him nod his head out of the corner of my eye.  
  
"That's great," Norris said, smiling slightly. "Any children planned, if you don't mind my asking?"  
  
"Oh. Well..." I began, looking over at Anthony.  
  
"Not at the moment Mr. Norris," Anthony said.  
  
"Maybe in the future," I then said.  
  
"Good, good," Norris said. He took a sip of tea. "I must say that I enjoyed being a father to Jay when he was younger. Now though, we're more business partners than anything else."  
  
"What about your daughter that you talked about the other night?" I asked before I could stop myself.  
  
Norris glanced at me for a moment before saying, "I highly doubt that she would want anything to do with me if I ever found her."  
  
'You've got that right,' I thought in my mid. I nodded to his response and then Anthony put his hand on top of mine.  
  
"My wife was adopted and spent some time trying to find her parents," Anthony said.  
  
"And did you find them Mrs. O'Kelly?" Norris asked.  
  
"I did," I said. "My mother had died six years after she gave me up. And my father had died just before I was born."  
  
It seemed Norris was about to say something about what I said when his son walked into the clearing. "Ah, there you are Jay," Norris said.  
  
"I've brought the O'Kelly's Ice," Jay said nodding to us.  
  
"Good, now let me take a look at the box before we hand it over to them," Norris said. He then said to us, "That's just to make sure the stuff is pure before you take it." Jay handed him the simple cardboard box that he had been carrying, which Norris then opened. He took out what looked like a package Necco wafers.  
  
Norris opened the package and took out a dark black wafer, sniffing it. "This looks alright," he said, putting the package back and closing the box. He stood up and waited for us to do the same.  
  
Anthony got out of his chair first and said to Norris, "I was wondering if I might pick a blue rose for my wife?"  
  
Norris looked surprised for a moment then nodded. He then said to his son, "Jay, give him one of the miniature blue ones we've got too." When Anthony and Jay had left, Norris turned to me and smiled. "You're husband's a thoughtful man," he said.  
  
"He is," I agreed. "He knows that I love the color blue. So that's probably why he asked for the rose."  
  
Anthony and Jay came back into the clearing. Anthony walked over to me and gave me a blue rosebud with a long stem.  
  
Jay then gave Anthony the pot with the miniature blue roses in it and took the box with the Ice from his father.  
  
"It was a pleasure doing business with you," Norris said, nodding to us. "Jay will take the box to your car and get the payment.  
  
Anthony and I said our goodbyes to him and then followed Jay out of the greenhouse to the house and then out to Anthony's car.  
  
"Just keep this hidden and you should be able to get it home safely," Jay said to us as he put the box in the trunk. "You are going to be driving back to San Francisco?"  
  
"Yeah," I said, handing him a fake check to pay for the Ice while Anthony put the flowerpot into the trunk next to the box.  
  
"Well it was a pleasure to have met you both," Jay said. He shook my hand and then Anthony's. "If you're ever here in L.A. again, give us a visit."  
  
"We will," I said as Anthony and I got into his car.  
  
When we had gotten on the street and away from the house, I took off my wig, let my hair down and took out my contacts.  
  
At the bottom of the hill, Anthony stopped the car and took off his wig and contact.  
  
While he was doing that, I took out my cell phone and texted Alex and Natalie's cell phones in case they were still at the Newman's. 'Got the Ice,' my message read, 'A and I will be at lab in 10 min. -Dylan.' 


	14. XIV:Method of Payment Dylan

A/N: Thanks for the reviews villianbabe and kushelkitten! You guys rule!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XIV  
  
Method of Payment  
  
Dylan  
  
"I wonder how they got this stuff to stick on the walls," Natalie said, holding one of the Ice wafers up.  
  
"I'd like to know that too Alex," I said.  
  
The four of us were at the lab. Alex was doing tests on the Ice while the rest of us watched her.  
  
"Well, the only thing I can think of," Alex said as she put some of the Ice into a petrie dish with water. "Is that they crushed some wafers and added a little bit of water to it."  
  
"Why would they do that when they take the Ice by dissolving the wafer in their mouths?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Good question," Alex said. She turned and put the petrie dish in a machine, pressing a few buttons then turning back to us. "It could be that the robbers were signaling to someone that they had been there."  
  
"So that means that someone who worked at the museum must have been in on it too," I said.  
  
"Catherine Crown," Anthony said.  
  
"Speaking of Crown," I said. "What'd you find out the Newman's?"  
  
"Crown was there the night of the robbery," Alex said.  
  
"But Mrs. Newman said she spent most of her night talking on her cellphone with someone and she sounded pretty mad," Natalie added.  
  
"So we can add her to the suspect list with the Norris,'" I said.  
  
"I just don't understand why they would take the paintings," Alex said.  
  
"Well, I've got an idea of why the Norris' might want those paintings," I said. Then I described all the art and antique furniture that had been in the mansion.  
  
"But is Norris that avid an art collector that he would sell Ice to someone so they would steal those paintings and give them to him," Natalie said.  
  
"Wait a sec Nat," Alex said. "You've got the right idea. But what if Crown offered the paintings to Norris as payment for some Black Ice?"  
  
The lab fell into silence for a few moments as we all thought about that.  
  
"It makes sense," I said. "Ryder did say that Crown had taken Ice before."  
  
The machine behind Alex beeped and she took out the petrie dish.  
  
Natalie took the piece of paper out and gave it to Alex.  
  
Reading the results, Alex nodded and said, "It's the same Ice from the walls."  
  
"What's our next step then?" Natalie asked.  
  
"We'll have to tell Ryder what's going on," I said.  
  
"He's coming in tomorrow morning," Alex said. "Once we tell him, then we'll figure out where we go next."  
  
Anthony drove us to the Santa Monica Promenade after we had left the lab.  
  
I needed to go shopping, or anything else that would make me forget about my father and half brother. I know that I had told everyone I wasn't going to think about them being family, but it was really hard. Ever since my mom died, I had wanted my father to come back that way the two of us could be a family. As I got older, I realized that was probably not going to happen, but I kept hopping deep down.  
  
We got to the Promenade and walked down the street. It was a Thursday afternoon so there weren't that many people there.  
  
I led Anthony to Borders where we spent an hour looking through the store. I ended up buying a book and some CDs before we left.  
  
After that we had an early dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Then we walked along the dirt path on the edge of the cliff next to the ocean.  
  
Usually when we walked here, I would talk constantly. That afternoon, I was quiet, looking out towards the sea.  
  
"Dylan, do you want to go home?" Anthony asked after we had been walking for a few minutes.  
  
I looked over at him and then lowered my head, nodding.  
  
He took my hand and led me back to his car.  
  
Once we had gotten home, Anthony took the plant out of the trunk.   
  
I went into into the kitchen and put the blue rosebud into a small vase that was covered in blue and green mosaic tiles. When Anthony came in, I took the plant from him and put it in the window in front of the sink. Then, without looking at Anthony, I sank into a chair at the table and stared at the vase.  
  
Behind me, Anthony opened a drawer, pulling something out. Then he sat down in the chair next to me.  
  
"Anthony, what?" I asked when he showed me the knife he had pulled out of the drawer.  
  
Holding up a hand to silence me, Anthony pulled the vase closer to us. Then he took my hand, and very carefully, lightly cut my index finger. When the blood started to come out, he held my finger over the vase.  
  
I watched, almost as if I was in a trance, as my blood dripped down the rose's stem and then into the water I had put in earlier.  
  
Letting go of my hand once the cut had stopped bleeding, Anthony took out a handkerchief. He wiped the blood off the knife. Then he cut his own index finger, letting the blood drip into the vase water. "This is no longer your father's, it is o-ours," he said, withdrawing his finger.  
  
I stared into his eyes, realizing that this was meant to be a kind of cleansing ceremony. He was trying to keep my father from 'contaminating' my life.  
  
I was very touched. No man would ever do what Anthony had just done for me. Then again, no man really cared about me as much as Anthony did.  
  
"Thank you," I whispered to him.  
  
Anthony nodded and then motioned to the miniature roses by the sink.  
  
Looking at the plant, I stood up and walked over to the sink. I grabbed the pot and then walked out the  
  
back door. Without a second thought, I chucked the plant into a trash can. I turned and said to Anthony, who was standing in the doorway, "Screw Edward Norris. I don't need him in my life."  
  
Anthony's eyes seemed to light up and he smiled slightly. He wrapped his arms around me when I stepped into the kitchen.  
  
We kissed passionately for a few moments before hurrying up to our room. 


	15. XV:Informing Ryder Dylan and Anthony

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the Getty Museum.  
  
XV  
  
Informing Ryder  
  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
The next morning at the office, Charlie told us that Ryder was going to be late getting to the Agency.  
  
"That gives us time to tell you about our suspicions," Alex said.  
  
The three of us then explained to Charlie our theory that Crown had offered the paintings at the Getty as payment to Norris for Black Ice.  
  
"An interesting idea, Angels," Charlie said. "I do have a few questions that need to be asked before we can fully accept Ms. Crown as one of our suspects."  
  
"I knew you would say that Charlie," I said, grinning slightly.  
  
"Yes. Well, my first question," Charlie began. "Is why didn't the Norris' just take the paintings when they wanted to? You did find out that Jacob Norris is a professional thief."  
  
"She probably gave them a key or something like that to get onto the museum property," Natalie answered.  
  
"That is possible," Charlie said. "Another question, how could Crown keep the fact that she was an Ice addict from Mr. Ryder."  
  
"She could have learned to control the gestures an Ice addict makes,"  
  
"And it wouldn't be too hard for her to find ways to take Ice in private, away from Ryder," Alex said.  
  
Before Charlie could respond, the phone on Bosley's desk rang. Bosley picked it up and spoke quietly with the person on the other end. He hung up the phone and said, "Ryder'll be here in a few minutes."  
  
Anthony  
  
Ryder entered the office, his face pale.  
  
"Is everything okay, Mr.. Ryder?" Natalie asked.  
  
"I just got out of a press conference about the stolen paintings," Ryder said. He sank down into an armchair next to Bosley's desk. "A couple of members of the public got into the room and started accusing me of having the painting stolen for the money."  
  
"The press went crazy, didn't they?" Dylan asked.  
  
Ryder nodded. "Please tell me that you guys are close to getting them back," he said pleadingly.  
  
Natalie, Alex and Dylan glanced at each other. None of them wanted to tell Ryder that his fiancee had been in on the robbery.  
  
"Mr. Ryder," Charlie then said gently. "I'm afraid that the girls and Anthony have discovered that your fiancee, Ms. Crown, was involved in the art theft."  
  
"W-what the hell are you talking about?" Ryder asked angrily.  
  
"Black Ice," Anthony said to him calmly.  
  
Dylan  
  
Ryder's eyes widened at the mention of the drug. "B-but I told you that Caty only took Black Ice a couple of times," he stammered.  
  
"Has she ever rubbed her index finger and thumb together very quickly?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, I've seen her do that a few times," Ryder said. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Black Ice addicts make that gesture," I said.  
  
"Oh god," Ryder said, burying his face in his hands.  
  
Everyone fell silent as Ryder then started shaking his head.  
  
After a few minutes, he seemed to get control of his emotions. Ryder raised his head and asked, "Who are the robbers?"  
  
"A drug dealer named Edward Norris and his son, a professional thief, Jacob," Natalie answered.  
  
"Oh god," Ryder moaned again. "That's why he asked me all about the museum when I met him at the party."  
  
"Did you meet his father at that party?"  
  
"I was introduced to him when I arrived since he was the host," Ryder said. "But I didn't see him other than that."  
  
"Was their home decorated elaborately?" Alex then asked.  
  
"It was a mansion on the north shore of the island," Ryder said. "And all the rooms that I saw had works of art from a bunch of different time periods."  
  
"And the furniture in the rooms?" I asked.  
  
"All antiques except for a few modern pieces," Ryder answered.  
  
"Where is your fiancee now Mr. Ryder?" Natalie asked.  
  
"At the museum I think," Ryder answered. "What's going to happen to her?"  
  
We were all silent, waiting for Charlie to answer that question.  
  
"We'll have to make sure that she was in on the robbery," Charlie answered.  
  
"And if she was?" Ryder asked hesitatingly, obviously dreading the answer to his question.  
  
"She'll be turned over to the police," Charlie answered.  
  
Ryder nodded slowly and then looked down at the ground. "Would you let me be there when you interrogate her?" he asked.  
  
"Well that's not really how-" Alex started to say.  
  
"What do you think Charlie?" I asked, interrupting Alex.  
  
"You can go Mr. Ryder," Charlie said. "It will probably be easier to get information from Ms. Crown if you are there."  
  
"When are you going to talk to her?" Ryder asked us.  
  
"If you'll step out of the office for a moment Mr. Ryder," Charlie said. "I need to speak to the girls and Anthony in private before they go to talk to your fiancee."  
  
Ryder got out of his chair and went back into the room he had come out of when he had arrived at the Agency.  
  
"Angels, Anthony," Charlie said. "I'm allowing Ryder to join you when you go interrogate Crown that way he won't try and help her escape."  
  
"Charlie," Alex said. "What if it turns out that Crown wasn't in on the robbery?"  
  
"Then you'll have to go back to the Norris,'" Charlie said calmly. "Bosley, call Mr. Ryder back in, I'd like to speak with him."  
  
Bosley left his desk and opened the door to the room that Ryder was in. "You can come back in," he said.  
  
Ryder stepped back into the office and stood next to Bosley's desk.  
  
"Now Mr. Ryder," Charlie started. "When the girls are talking to Ms. Crown, I would appreciate it if you kept quiet unless it becomes-"  
  
"Someone is coming," Anthony said suddenly, interrupting Charlie.  
  
Alex, Natalie and I all stood up and turned to the door, Anthony doing the same.  
  
The door burst open and Catherine Crown ran into the office. 


	16. XVI:Crown's Version Dylan

A/N: Merci to villianbabe, Kushelkitten and Barbayat for your great reviews!  
  
A/N #2: A twist in this chapter, readers. Let me know what you think of it when you review!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XVI  
  
Crown's Version  
  
Dylan  
  
The office was plunged into silence for a few minutes before Ryder cried, "Caty, what are you doing here?"  
  
"You guys are making a huge mistake," Crown said, ignoring her fiancee.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.  
  
"I know that you think I was in on the robbery," Crown snapped.  
  
"Ms. Crown," Charlie then said. "Why don't you have a seat and tell us your side of the story."  
  
Crown walked into the office and sat down in the armchair that Ryder had been sitting in earlier. She looked at each of us as Natalie, Alex and I sat down on the couch. Then she said, "I know that you think I let Norris take the paintings for Black Ice, but you've got it all wrong."  
  
"So you did let Norris take the paintings?" I asked her.  
  
"Yes, b-but I had to," Crown said. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she placed her face in her hands.  
  
Ryder, looking shocked, pulled out a handkerchief from his suit pocket. He walked over to Crown and handed it to her.  
  
"Thanks," Crown whispered to him. When she got her tears under control, she continued talking. "What you need to understand about Norris is that he was blackmailing me."  
  
"Why?" Natalie asked gently.  
  
"I-it was something that happened about five years ago in Hawaii," Crown said.  
  
That news hit me like a ton of bricks. Then it all came together in my mind. Hawaii, Norris, Crown. I looked into the woman's eyes.  
  
They were a familiar green.  
  
"Oh my god," I murmured.  
  
Everyone looked over at me in surprise, I kept my eyes on Crown.  
  
"Dylan?" I heard Anthony ask next to me.  
  
"Y-you're Edward Norris' daughter?" I whispered hoarsely.  
  
Crown's eyes widened in surprise and then she nodded. "Yes. And Jacob is my brother," she said.  
  
"Half brother?" I asked, surprised to find that my voice was trembling.  
  
"No, my full brother," Crown answered, looking confused. "Our mom and dad were the same people. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Oh shit," I said. Then I got up from the couch and ran out the office door. I stumbled out onto the little grassy area behind the Agency. I walked over to the stone bench that was under a small willow tree and sat down.  
  
A few minutes later, I heard the door that I had come out of open. I didn't bother to look up; I know who it was.  
  
"I'm sorry you had to find that out n-now," Anthony said as he sat down next to me.  
  
"It's not your fault," I said. Then I said. "This is getting to be an awful habit. I'm afraid that next Ryder will be telling me he's my uncle or something like that."  
  
"Will you tell her?" Anthony asked.  
  
I thought about that seriously for a few moments before answering. "I'll wait until she finishes her story," I said.  
  
Anthony nodded and stood up. Then he took my hands and helped me get off the bench. Before we turned to go back into the Agency, he kissed me softly on the lips.  
  
I walked into the office first. As soon as I did, Natalie, Alex, Bosley and Charlie bombarded me with the same question.  
  
"Are you okay Dylan?"  
  
"Are you feelin' okay girl?"  
  
" Are you all right Dylan?"  
  
"I hope everything is okay Dylan."  
  
"I'm fine you guys," I said in a reassuring tone. "Ms. Crown, you can continue with your story."  
  
Crown took a few minutes to think before she spoke. "As I said Norris has been blackmailing me for five years now," she said. "He found out that I had had an affair with my boss at the company I worked at in Hawaii. And... that I had stolen money from the company to buy a house."  
  
"And your father found this out and started blackmailing you?" Alex asked.  
  
"Norris is an opportunist," Crown answered bitterly. "At first he demanded money from me."  
  
"Where did you get it from?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Because of my affair, I received a promotion at work after Norris started blackmailing me," Crown said. "The pay that I got went to him to keep the affair and the theft secret. About two years after that, I quit my job and moved with Norris and Jacob from Hawaii to here.  
  
I became the head of the Board of Directors at the Getty a month after we got here. Then I met Adam at a party soon after and I moved out of the mansion Norris had bought."  
  
"Did you still have to pay your father?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I did it in secret," Crown answered. "And I didn't keep in touch with Norris or Jacob after I left the mansion except for sending the money. Then, three weeks ago, Norris came to my office at the museum. He said he wanted a different kind of payment from me."  
  
"The paintings," I said.  
  
Crown looked at me and nodded. "At first, I said no of course. But he insisted, saying that if i didn't help Jacob with the robbery, he'd tell Adam what I had done in Hawaii," she then said. "So I gave into him and I came back here with Jacob the night of the robbery. And I helped him steal the paintings."  
  
"But Paige Newman said that you were at her house that night," Natalie said.  
  
"I asked her to lie for me," Crown said.  
  
"What has Norris done with the paintings?" Ryder asked quietly.  
  
"I don't know," Crown answered. "I haven't seen or talked to Norris or Jacob since the robbery."  
  
"Why the Black Ice on the walls?" Alex asked.  
  
"To throw the police off," Crown said. "Jacob thought they would concentrate on the stuff on the walls and look at the better known Black Ice dealers here in LA."  
  
"How did you guys get into building two?" Natalie asked.  
  
"I shut off the alarm in that building and in building three," Crown explained. "We also moved the skylight to trick the police."  
  
Everyone fell silent for a few moments before I stood up.  
  
"Charlie," I said. "Is it alright if I speak to Ms. Crown outside?"  
  
"Go ahead Dylan," Charlie answered warmly.  
  
Confusion on her face, Crown got up from the armchair and followed me out to the grassy area behind the building. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I need to tell you something," I said. I cleared my throat nervously. "Did Norris ever tell you about the daughter he had with a woman named Lily Zaas?"  
  
"Yes, he has told me about that," Crown answered.  
  
"Well, Lily Zaas was my mother and Norris is my father. I'm that daughter in the story. Catherine, I'm your half sister," I said. 


	17. XVII:Sisters Dylan

A/N: Thanks for your very kind review, villianbabe. Glad that you enjoyed the twist in that one!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters  
  
XVII  
  
Sisters  
  
Dylan  
  
The look on Catherine's face changed from confusion, to understanding to surprise before finally settling on shock. "Y-you're my..." she said, trailing off at the end.  
  
"It's true Catherine," I said to her. "You've got to believe me."  
  
"No, I-I do believe you," Catherine said a little shakily. "But it's... really hard to take in."  
  
I nodded and said, "I found out that Norris was my father when I went to his party the other night. I was undercover and he told the story of his long lost daughter. And I realized that it was me." I looked at my sister (I wasn't going to bother with the half part) and was surprised to see tears welling in her eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
Shaking her head, Catherine rubbed at her eyes. "It's just that I've always wanted to have a sister," she said after a few moments. "And now I've got one." She smiled brightly at me and this time she didn't bother to wipe away the tears that fell down her cheeks. Then she walked over to me and put her arms around my shoulders, hugging me.  
  
I was a little startled at first, but then I smiled and hugged her shoulders too.  
  
After a few seconds we let go of one another. Catherine smiled and reached out to wipe a tear away from my cheek that I hadn't even noticed had fallen.  
  
I smiled and then reached out to wipe a tear falling down her own cheek.  
  
We looked at each other for a moment. Then we laughed slightly and hugged each other again. And then we both started to sob slightly.  
  
Catherine pulled away from me after a while, and she dried her eyes with Ryder;s handkerchief. "Dylan," she said softly, looking down at the ground. "Do you think you could forgive me for what what I have done?"  
  
I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Of course. God knows I've done some bad things in my life too," I said.  
  
Catherine gave a small snort of laughter. Then she said, "Once this is all over, would you like to maybe go shopping or something like that with me?"  
  
"Sure," I answered. "that would be great."  
  
"Well, why don't you and Anthony come to the house for dinner tonight?" Catherine asked.  
  
I sighed and said, "I need to ask Charlie what's going to happen to you before we can do that."  
  
"Oh, right," Catherine said. "I forgot about that."  
  
"I don't blame you," I said. "Come on, let's go back inside before the others worry about us." I turned and walked back into the building.  
  
Catherine followed me, but much more slowly. She wasn't too anxious to hear if she would be turned over to the police or not.  
  
As it turned out, Charlie let Catherine go. He said that she had been forced to participate in the robbery. Also, if Catherine testified against Norris and jacob if there ever was a trial, she would probably be let off by the police.  
  
I think that there was another reason Charlie didn't turn Catherine over to the police; the fact that she was my sister.  
  
After a quick discussion with Natalie and Alex, we decided that Anthony and I would go to Catherine and Ryder's house.  
  
Catherine would need some sort of protection from Norris since she had told us his involvement in the robbery.  
  
So Anthony and I did end up going to Catherine's for dinner.  
  
"Dylan, can you hand me that wooden spoon that's over there?" Catherine asked me as she took the cover off of a pot on the stove.  
  
I gave her the spoon and said, "I don't know why you had me come in here. I'm not even really helping you cook."  
  
"Well I got the feeling that you're not too good a cook," Catherine said.  
  
I laughed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm terrible in the kitchen," I said.  
  
"Yeah, so I asked you in here so that we could talk for a while," Catherine said. "Would you tell me about your childhood?"  
  
I nodded and quickly gave her an overview of my life up until the Knox case.  
  
"Wow, that's really amazing all that you've been through Dylan," Catherine said once I was done.  
  
"What about you?" I asked, curious about her own life.  
  
Catherine then gave me a fast summary of her life until the affair and the start of Norris' blackmailing her. She had been born in Hawaii and lived with her father, mother and her brother Jacob who was a year younger than her. They had all lived a relatively normal and happy life. When Catherine had graduated from high school, her mother had died.  
  
"Everything kind of fell apart at that point," she said. Her father started acting strangely and Jacob had become somewhat of a hoodlum. Then Catherine was hired to the company that she had stolen from and she stopped talking.  
  
"What was your mother's name?" I asked.  
  
Smiling, Catherine said, "My mom was full-blooded Hawaiian. Her name was Kanoah Ainahau Crown."  
  
I nodded at that. It made sense as Catherine's hair was a blue-black color and her skin was slightly tan even though it was winter.  
  
"My full name is actually Catherine Pikake Crown," Catherine said.  
  
"What does Pikake mean?" I asked.  
  
"It's the Hawaiian word for the jasmine flower," Catherine answered. "Well, the dinner's ready, so let's go and eat."  
  
I carried out two plates of food and set them on the table in the dinning room.  
  
Catherine came into the room behind me and set down a pot of spaghetti on the table. "Come and eat you guys," she called out to Anthony and Ryder.  
  
They came into the dinning room and sat down at the table. Anthony sitting next to me and Ryder sitting next to Catherine across the table from us.  
  
We chatted with each other while we ate. Anthony didn't really talk, but Catherine and Ryder didn't seem to mind. Once we were done, Catherine and I cleared the table and threw the dishes into the dishwasher.  
  
"Would you guys like some wine?" Ryder asked, coming into the kitchen.  
  
"Sure," I said.  
  
Ryder got a bottle and four glasses and went into the living room. He poured us all glasses of red wine,  
  
then he sat down on the couch next to Catherine.  
  
"I was wondering, how did you guys meet?" Catherine asked Anthony and me.  
  
I glanced over at Anthony, who was sitting in the armchair next to mine, and he nodded. I told them about the Knox, HALO and McCadden cases, and how somewhere during that time, we ended up together.  
  
I was finishing up telling them about how Charlie had offered Anthony a job at the Agency when the large bay window shattered at something was thrown through it.  
  
"What the hell!" Ryder yelled angrily, standing up and dropping his wine glass.  
  
Anthony and I got up from out chairs and we walked over to the black object that was laying on the floor, surrounded by glass shards.  
  
The thing started spewing out some kind of steam, and I realized what it was.  
  
"Cover your mouths!" I yelled.  
  
But I wasn't quick enough and we all breathed in the gas. It was powerful stuff, and we all collapsed to ground within seconds, unconscious. 


	18. XVIII:Between Life and Death A & D

A/N: Thanks to villianbabe and skyfire4 for you reviews of the last chapter. Hope that you all like this one.  
  
A/N #2: Small cliffy at the end of this chapter. Just letting you all know.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters. Nor do I own the Cedar-Sinai Hospital, which is a real hospital in LA.  
  
XVIII  
  
Between Life and Death  
  
Anthony and Dylan  
  
He opened his eyes to find a light shining into his left eye. With a growl, Anthony sat up, startling the medic who had been checking on him.  
  
  
  
"Are you alright sir?" the startled woman asked.  
  
Standing up, Anthony muttered, "Fine." He spotted Dylan, who was unconscious on the floor, a medic looking at her.  
  
Near the couch, also on the floor, was Ryder, another medic with him.  
  
Not seeing Catherine Crown in the room, Anthony turned and walked out the front door to try and find her. He wanted to stay with Dylan, but he was sure that she wanted him to check on her sister.  
  
He saw an ambulance parked in front of the driveway, it's back doors wide open. He walked over to it, and peered inside. "Oh no," he whispered.  
  
Dylan  
  
I came out of unconsciousness and felt someone squeezing my hand softly. "Anthony?" I whispered, blinking my eyes.  
  
"I'm h-here," he answered.  
  
I sighed and then tried to sit up slowly.  
  
"Sit on the couch," Anthony said. He helped me stand up and walk over to the sofa that Ryder and Catherine had been sitting on earlier.  
  
"Anthony, where's Catherine?" I asked. I had seen Ryder being put on a stretcher and pushed out of the room.  
  
Looking apprehensive, Anthony helped me stand up and led me out of the house and into my car. He didn't say a word, and I knew then that it was bad.  
  
"Anthony," I said as he drove on to the 405 freeway. "Alex and Natalie should meet us wherever it is we're going." I was really scared that wherever was going to be the morgue.  
  
"They know," Anthony said quietly. "I c-called them."  
  
I leaned back into my seat and closed my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I prayed that my sister wasn't dead.  
  
Anthony  
  
He pulled into one of the parking structures at Cedar-Sinai Hospital.  
  
Next to him, Dylan opened her eyes and said, "Don't tell me anything Anthony. I want to see her for myself."  
  
Nodding, he got out of the car and then hurried over to the other side so he could help Dylan get out. He put an arm around her shoulder and then led her towards the hospital.  
  
They were directed to the fourth floor of the building. When they got out of the elevator, they saw that it was a waiting room for the operating rooms. It was empty except for one person. Ryder was sitting in a chair, looking at something he was holding in his hands.  
  
"Ryder," Dylan called out to get his attention.  
  
"Ms. Sanders, Anthony," Ryder said, looking up at them as they sat down in the chairs across from him.  
  
"Are you alright, I saw them taking you out of the house in a stretcher," Dylan asked.  
  
"I'm fine," Ryder answered. "Caty is in there." He murmured the last part and looked at the doors leading to the operating rooms. "They won't tell me what's wrong with her."  
  
When he said that, a doctor suddenly came into the waiting room from the operating rooms.  
  
Dylan  
  
As the doctor walked to us, I found myself clutching Anthony's hand tightly.  
  
"You're the family of Catherine Crown?" the doctor, a young man, asked.  
  
"We are," Ryder answered quickly. "Please, tell us what's happened to her and what's going on!"  
  
"Well, the police said that Ms. Crown was beaten by whoever went into the house," the doctor answered. "As for what's wrong with her medically..." He trailed off and bit his lip for a moment before continuing. "She's in a coma and it's not likely that she'll come out of it."  
  
Someone suddenly screamed out "NO!"  
  
Anthony turned to me, his eyes wide, and I realized that it was me who had screamed.  
  
I started to tremble and then I felt the room start to spin. Then everything went black.  
  
I came to, smelling something awful under my nose. I coughed and opened my eyes.  
  
"Dylan?" Anthony asked, coming into view.  
  
"What happened?" I asked and I tried to sit up.  
  
"You fainted ma'am," the doctor said, stopping me from sitting up. He took out a penlight and shined it into my eyes.  
  
"I'm fine," I snapped, pushing his arm away. I got up and then sat down in the chair I was in earlier.  
  
"Dylan!" Alex and Natalie cried as they got off the elevator. They came into the waiting room, worried expressions on both their faces.  
  
"What happened?" Alex asked as she and Natalie sat down in the chair next to me.  
  
"Anthony said something had happened to Catherine," Natalie said.  
  
I told them quickly what had happened at the house earlier. And then I told them about Catherine.  
  
"Oh god," Alex said, putting an arm around my shoulder.  
  
"I'm sure she'll wake up," Natalie said, putting her arm around my other shoulder.  
  
"Ma'am, you should drink this," the doctor said, handing me a styrofoam cup with water in it.  
  
"What happened?" Alex asked.  
  
"She fainted just before you arrived," the doctor answered. "Excuse me." With that, he left the waiting room.  
  
"You fainted?" Natalie asked. Alex was looking at me in surprise.  
  
"I'm fine you guys," I said. "Don't worry about it." I took a sip of water.  
  
"Dylan," Ryder said, sitting down in a chair across from me. "The doctor said Caty is still in the operating room. She should be out in two hours."  
  
At that we all settled down and waited. Natalie and Alex holding my hands tightly once I had finished drinking the cup of water. Ryder was still sitting across from us, looking down at Catherine's engagement ring that he was holding. Anthony stood at one of the windows behind my seat, looking out and also keeping an eye on me.  
  
Two and a half hours later, another doctor came out and walked over to us. "Ms. Crown is out of surgery, she'll be moved to room 630 on the sixth floor," the doctor said.  
  
We all went over to the elevator and then up to the sixth floor.  
  
A nurse at the desk led us to room 630 and said that only family members could go in and for only five minutes.  
  
"Go on Dylan," Ryder said quietly.  
  
I nodded and let go of Alex and Natalie's hands and walked into the room. 


	19. XIX:Cause for Revenge D & A

A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews, villianbabe and skyfire4! You guys don't know how much it means to me to get your kind reviews.  
  
A/N #2: Some angst and then WAFFiness that's at the end of this chapter. Hope you enjoy!  
  
XIX  
  
Cause for Revenge  
  
Dylan and Anthony  
  
The room was dark except for a single light shining down onto the bed. And except for the noise of the machines, it was quiet too.  
  
I breathed in slightly and pushed myself off the door that had closed behind me. I walked up to the edge of the bed and looked down at my sister.  
  
Her eyes had been taped shut so that they would not be damaged by the light. There were tubes going into her nostrils and one that went into her mouth. This tube was helping her breathe, her chest falling and rising in a weird way as the machine breathed in and out for her. Her face was very pale, which made every would she had received stand out.  
  
There were bruises on her cheeks and chin. All three were turning a sickening blue black color. There were four cuts on her face. One on her forehead that had been stitched up. Another on her nose, a smaller cut that had been covered with gauze. A third cut was just below her left eye, it too had been stitched. And the fourth cut was a horizontal cut going from the bottom of her lower lip, down to her chin.  
  
Her head was covered with gauze, and I wondered crazily if they'd had to cut off all her hair. There also was in IV in her left arm and some of her fingers on her left hand had been bandaged. They were probably broken.  
  
"Oh Catherine," I whispered. I reached out and took her right hand into my own. "I'm so sorry." I paused for a moment, looking at her face. Memories of her face as she had hugged me earlier and her happiness during dinner floated through my mind. The sadness that I was feeling was quickly replaced with anger.  
  
"I swear," I whispered to her fervently. "I swear I'll get those sons of a bitches Norris and Jacob for what they've done. I swear Catherine, I'll see them pay for what they've done to you."  
  
After that I fell silent, clutching Catherine's cold hand. A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts and I knew that Ryder wanted to come in and see her.  
  
"I've got to go Cathy," I said, instantly giving her my nickname for her. "But I'll try and come back whenever I can." I let go of her hand and kissed her forehead softly, on the side because of the cut. I looked down at her for a few seconds before the sadness returned and I turned to leave the room.  
  
Outside in the hallway, I walked straight to Anthony and buried my face in his shoulder.  
  
As I began to cry, Anthony wrapped his arms around me and stroked my hair.  
  
After a while, I pushed back from him a little and wiped my cheeks. "She looks really bad," I said hoarsely.  
  
"Dylan," Alex said to me softly. "What do we do now?"  
  
That question startled me. I leaned against Anthony for strength as I said steadily, "First thing tomorrow, we tell Charlie what's happened. Then we'll try and find Norris and Jacob."  
  
"Then we'll see you guys tomorrow at the office," Natalie said.  
  
"Get some rest tonight, both of you," Alex said. "See you tomorrow." She turned and walked down the hallway with Natalie.  
  
The door to Catherine's room then opened and I stepped out of Anthony's arms and turned around.  
  
Ryder stepped out into the hallway, looking paler then he had when had gone into the room.  
  
"Adam?" I said, a little hesitatingly.  
  
His head snapped up when he heard me use his first name. "S-she's so p- pale," he whispered. Then tears started to fall down his cheeks and he covered his eyes with his hand.  
  
I looked back at Anthony with a questioning look on my face. He nodded to me and I turned back to Ryder. I walked up to him and then wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him and trying to comfort him.  
  
Ryder seemed taken aback for a minute, before taking his hand off his eyes and hugging me back quickly.  
  
When we had pulled apart, I said to him, "We're going to do our best to get Norris and Jacob."  
  
Reaching into his coat pocket, Ryder pulled out a business card and handed it to me. "My cell phone number," he explained. "I hope that you get those two bastards for what they've done to Caty."  
  
Anthony  
  
He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but couldn't stop himself. Whatever that noxious gas had been, it made him drowsy. He turned over in the bed so he could hold Dylan, but his hands fell on the bed sheets. He sat up and then got off of the bed. Anthony then noticed that the door to the balcony was opened and he could Dylan standing at the railing. He went into the closet and grabbed something before going out onto the balcony to try and comfort Dylan.  
  
Dylan  
  
I felt Anthony's presence on the balcony before I heard him. Then I felt a blanket being draped over my shoulders. I looked down and saw that Anthony had gotten the tartan plaid blanket I had bought in Scotland.  
  
"Can't sleep?" Anthony asked.  
  
"Every time I managed to," I said, shaking my head. "I saw Cathy lying on that hospital bed, surrounded by those machines." I shuddered at the memory and felt two tears fall down my cheeks.  
  
Anthony wrapped his arms around my waist and rested hid chin on top of my head.  
  
We stood like that for a while before I thought of something and turned to face Anthony. "I never told you how my mother died, did I?" I asked.  
  
He shook his head. "Do you want to t-tell me?" he asked, a doubtful look on his face. When I nodded firmly, he let go of my waist and then took my hand, leading me back into the bedroom. He walked over to the bed and sat, leaning against the headboard.  
  
I sat down next to him and took a deep breath before I started. "My mom worked at that convenience store Norris met her at even after I was born so she could support us," I said. "One day she got off work early and picked me up from school so we could go to the movies. On the way there, a drunk driver went through a stop sign and hit our car on the driver's side.  
  
I came out of the accident without any serious injuries. Just a bruise and a few scrapes. My mom, she had fallen into a coma from the injuries she had received to her head. I was allowed to go in to see her, and one thing I always remember are those machines she was hooked up to. After a week or so, they decided that my mom had too much brain damage to be able to live if she ever did come out of the coma.  
  
So they took her off life support. Then they came to the foster home I had been taken to and told me that she had died. I already knew though, it was liked I could sense it when she died." I shook my head and wiped my eyes.  
  
Anthony took me in his arms and kissed me tenderly. Then he hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear, "I will help you get revenge for you s- sister." 


	20. XX:Disappearing and Worse Condition Dy...

A/N: Thanks to Skyfire4 and villianbabe for your reviews. You guys are the greatest!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XX  
Disappearing and Worse Condition  
Dylan  
  
After Charlie greeted us all the next day, he immediately asked about Catherine.  
  
"She's in a comma Charlie," I said, no emotion in my voice. All the sadness I had felt the day before had been replaced by anger and anticipation to get Norris and Jacob.  
  
"Dylan," Charlie said. "I realize that you are very angry, but we must approach Norris and Jacob very carefully. And try to keep in mind, Angels, Anthony, that we were hired to recover the stolen paintings."  
  
"They could have killed Cathy!" I said angrily. "Are you saying I should forget all about what they did to Catherine, Charlie?"  
  
"No Dylan," he answered in a soothing voice. "I just don't want to see you go to jail because you killed Norris and Jacob."  
  
I sighed and then asked weakly, "Then what are we supposed to do?"  
  
"Since we have proof from Ms. Crown that Norris and Jacob were both involved in the robbery," Charlie said. "You should all go to the Norris' mansion and see if you can find any evidence of the paintings."  
  
"But Charlie-" Alex started to say.  
  
"Girls," Charlie said, interrupting her. "The best thing we can do right now is find the paintings in the Norris' possession. Once you have done that, then you can inform the police of Norris and Jacob's involvement in Catherine's beating."  
  
Half an hour later, Natalie, Alex and I were walking up to the front door of Norris' mansion.  
  
Anthony was waiting in the car which was parked down the street, so no one in the mansion would see him.  
  
Alex knocked on the door and then turned to me and Natalie. "You guys remember what we're going to be doing?" she asked.  
  
We both nodded. To get into the house, we were posing as three inspectors from the city. We were going to pretend that we needed to check all the air conditioning vents in the house. This way, we could look in every room of the mansion and try to find the paintings.  
  
Alex knocked on the door again, louder this time. When no one answered, she looked through the window that was next to the door. "Hey guys-" she began to say.  
  
"You ladies need something?" a voice behind us said.  
  
We turned around to find an older woman standing on the walkway.  
  
"We're from the City Health Office," Natalie said, smiling. "We need to inspect the air conditioning vents in the house."  
  
"Well I'm afraid you've come a little too late," the woman said.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
  
"The Norris' left late last night," the woman answered.  
  
"She's right," Alex said. "There are boxes and crates in the foyer."  
  
"Do you know where they went at all?" I asked the woman.  
  
"I imagine Hawaii," she answered. "Jay told me they have a home there."  
  
"Thank you very much for your help ma'am," Natalie said, motioning for us to leave.  
  
"Glad I could," the woman said.  
  
We walked past her and then down the street to Anthony's car. We got inside and we took off the wigs we had been wearing.  
  
"What h-happened?" Anthony asked.  
  
"They're gone," I said grimly as I let my hair down from the ponytail holder.  
  
"They went back to Hawaii," Natalie said.  
  
"And they definitely took the paintings with them," Alex said.  
  
Anthony and I walked down the sixth floor of the hospital where Catherine was. As we neared her room, we saw Adam, who was sitting in a chair in the hallway.  
  
"Anything new Adam?" I asked once we had reached him.  
  
"Looking up at us, Adam shook his head. "They say she's still in bad shape," he said.  
  
"I'm going to go in," I said to him.  
  
Adam nodded, and then said, "They let me go in for ten minutes now, so it's probably the same for you." He looked at the bouquet of flowers I had brought with me and smiled. "She loves those," he said.  
  
I smiled back at him and then walked over to the room, opening the door and going inside.  
  
Since it was day, the window next to Catherine's bed was opened and then sunlight poured into the room.  
  
Despite this, I was saddened to see that Catherine looked worse then the night before. I walked over to the bed and took her hand. "Hi Cathy," I whispered softly. "I've come to see how you were doing."  
  
There was a slight pause and then I started talking again. "I've brought you some flowers," I said. I put the vase with the bouquet on the little table next to the bed. Then I picked two of the flowers.  
  
"I got these kinds because I figured you might like them," I said to Catherine. Then I put the orange hibiscus and rose into her hair. "They didn't have jasmine, or else I would have gotten some." I stared down and her unmoving body. "Cathy," I whispered, sitting on the very edge of the bed. "Norris and Jacob have gone to Hawaii. Natalie, Alex, Anthony and I are going to go after them. We'll find the paintings and get them back into the museum."  
  
I became quiet after that and after listening to the machines for a while, I started to cry.  
  
"Please don't leave me Cathy," I said, letting tears fall down my cheeks onto the blanket covering Catherine. "I lost my mother and I don't want to lose you. Not now. Not after we've finally found one another."  
  
I leaned forward and kissed Catherine's cheek and then her forehead. "Come back Cathy, there are a lot of people here who love you," I said. "Including me." I gave her hand a quick squeeze before getting up and leaving the room.  
  
Outside, Adam came up to me and placed a comforting hand on my arm. "Anthony told me the Norris' left for Hawaii," he said after a few moments.  
  
I loved over at Anthony in surprise. He never really talked too much with anyone but me. "That's right," I said.  
  
"There mansion there is outside the town of Laie on Oahu," Adam said.  
  
I nodded. Then I reached into my pocket and pulled out a business card. "My cell phone," I explained. "Call me if there's any change at all."  
  
"I will," Adam said. "Good luck."  
  
I nodded to him and then walked with Anthony out of the hospital to my car.  
  
Our plane to Hawaii would be leaving in four hours. 


	21. XXI:Los Angeles to Oahu Dylan

A/N: Thanks to my most faithful readers: villianbabe and Skyfire4. If i could give you guys awards for the times you've reviewed my stories, I swear that I would!  
  
A/N #2: Not much excitment in this chappy. I am in the midst of an awful cold and am having a hard time writing while I'm sick. Hopefully I'll feel  
  
better by the time I need to write the next chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXI Los Angeles to Oahu Dylan  
  
Anthony and I met up with Alex and Natalie at LAX two hours before our plane boarded.  
  
"You guys get through the security checkpoint okay?" Alex asked as we sat down at the table they were sitting at.  
  
"No problems," I said quickly. "How long is the flight going to take?"  
  
"About five hours," Alex answered.  
  
I sighed. "I'd better go get something to read then," I said, standing  
  
up.  
  
"Do you guys want anything?" I asked Natalie and Natalie. They shook their heads, so Alex and I left the small restaurant and walked down the terminal to the magazine/bookshop. I went over to where the magazines were and pulled some down for the flight. Then I walked towards the back of the store where the books were kept.  
  
I was about to take a book off a shelf, when Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me to the very back of the store. "What's wrong?" I asked.  
  
"I wanted to ask how Catherine's doing," Alex said.  
  
"She's still pretty bad," I answered. "Alex, what are we going to do once we get to Hawaii?"  
  
"It'll be too late to really do anything," Alex said. "So we'll go to a hotel in Honolulu."  
  
"One of the ones Charlie's connected with?" I asked.  
  
"Of course," Alex answered, grinning. "And tomorrow we'll start planing what we want to do."  
  
"Sounds good," I said. "I'm going to go grab a book and then pay."  
  
"I think I'll do that too," Alex said.  
  
We walked up to the start of the books and each grabbed one. Then we went to the cash register in the front and paid for our things.  
  
When we got back to the resturaunt, Natalie asked me as we sat down, "Did you find the clothes for Anthony at the warehouse?"  
  
"Yeah, I got the stuff that you said he should wear," I answered, glancing at Anthony.  
  
He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and crossed his arms. Since he would have stood out in one of suits, I made him wear khakis and a long sleeved black shirt.  
  
"Well at least he looks somewhat normal now," Alex said teasingly.  
  
Anthony scowled as we laughed and then he shook his head.  
  
I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which seemed to subdue him. "How much long-" I began to ask. A huge yawn that almost dislocated my jaw stopped me.  
  
"You okay Dylan?" Natalie asked.  
  
"She didn't get any sleep last night, did she?" Alex asked Anthony.  
  
He shrugged his shoulders and feigned ignorance.  
  
Alex sighed and then said, "Just make sure she sleeps on the plane."  
  
"We're not sitting together on the plane?" Natalie asked.  
  
"You and I are sitting in the middle of the plane," Alex answered. "Dylan and Anthony are more towards the front."  
  
"No first class?" I asked jokingly.  
  
"Not this time," Alex answered, smiling.  
  
An hour and forty five minutes later, the plane reached the altitude where it would fly and a small dinner was quickly served.  
  
Anthony and I were sitting on the left side of the plane, towards the front as Alex had told us. I was sitting next to the window, Anthony in the seat in the middle, and the one on the aisle was empty.  
  
When the trays from dinner had been taken away, Anthony moved the arm rest between his chair and mine. Then he got up and sat down in the empty seat.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked as he put up the arm rest between his seat and the empty one.  
  
"You need to s-sleep," Anthony said softly.  
  
I shook my head. "No way," I said. I'm going to wait until we get to the hotel to sleep."  
  
Anthony reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to him. "Just for  
  
an h-hour," he said.  
  
"Fine, I'll sleep," I said irritably. "But you better wake me up in an  
  
hour." I unfastened my seat belt and then lay my head on Anthony's lap and  
  
closed my eyes, falling asleep.  
  
Five hours later, the plane landed in Honolulu and Anthony and I got off before Alex and Natalie. We walked to the baggage carousel and waited for them before getting our suitcases and leaving for the hotel.  
  
It took half an hour to get the hotel that was about a block away from Waikiki Beach. Two rooms had been reserved for us and they were connected by a door.  
  
"You guys want to go out and walk around?" I asked, opening the door to  
  
the room Natalie and Alex were staying in.  
  
"Nope, I just want to get some sleep," Natalie said from the bed where she was laying down.  
  
"What about you Alex?" I asked.  
  
"I'm going to go to sleep too," Alex said. "Don't stay out to late so you won't be tired for tomorrow."  
  
"We won't," I said. I backed up and closed the door. "Ready?" I asked  
  
Anthony.  
  
"Let's go," he said.  
  
We left the hotel and walked down the street that was right above the beach.  
  
I dragged Anthony into some stores where I bought some souvenirs to take home.  
  
After a while, Anthony and I walked over to the beach and we sat down on a bench to watch the sun go down.  
  
"I have never been here b-before," Anthony said.  
  
"Oh yeah? How do you like it so far?" I asked him, resting my head on his shoulder.  
  
"It's pretty," he answered.  
  
"I really wonder if Cathy misses this at all," I said.  
  
At that, we both fell silent and watched as the sun sank lower into the  
  
sky.  
  
Off to the side of us, a young couple and their daughter were building a sand castle.  
  
I watched as the mother helped the girl build a wall of sand. After a while, I looked over at Anthony  
  
"One day?" he asked, knowing what I was thinking.  
  
"Maybe," I said softly, looking over at the family again. I was surprised to feel that I wanted to have a child too.  
  
Anthony put his hand on my cheek and turned my head towards him. He brought his lips to mine, and we kissed as the sun sank behind the sea. 


	22. XXII:Outside Help Dylan

A/N: Thanks for your reviews villianbabe and Skyfire4. And villian-thanks for your compliment, but don't forget, you hold the crown for A/D WAFFiness!  
  
A/N #2: This chapters not too exciting. I'm still sick so it probably won't be until the next chapter that there's some excitement. Sorry  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXII Outside Help Dylan  
  
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and got into our rental car to drive up to Laie.  
  
"It shows that Laie is on the northeast shore of the island," Alex said  
  
from the driver's seat, looking at a map.  
  
"How long will it take to get there?" I asked from the back seat where Anthony and I were sitting.  
  
"A half hour to forty five minutes," Alex said. "Are you all ready?"  
  
"Let's go," I said, impatient to be going.  
  
Anthony nodded and Natalie said she was ready.  
  
Alex started the car and drove onto the highway towards Laie.  
  
It took only half an hour to get to the small town. Once we did, we went into a restaurant to have a quick lunch and to plan what we would do next.  
  
After we had ordered our food, we started pitching ideas as to how we could get the paintings back from Norris.  
  
"We really can't even try to plan anything unless we know the layout of  
  
the Norris' mansion," Natalie said, after every idea we could think of had been said and then discarded.  
  
"Excuse me," a voice to the side of our table said.  
  
We all turned out heads to the man that had walked up to us.  
  
"You are the Angels that work for Charlie?" he asked in French. "If you are, then your wings are made of pure gold."  
  
Natalie, Alex and I all looked at one another. That was the code that Charlie's many helpers said to us so we would know that Charlie had sent them.  
  
"Please sit," Alex said, motioning to the empty chair at our table.  
  
"Charlie told me that you may need my help while you are here," the man  
  
said, sitting down. "I am Edward Norris' brother-in-law, Kamaaina Crown."  
  
I straightened up a little in my seat, this was Catherine's uncle.  
  
"How can you help us?" Natalie asked.  
  
Kamaaina looked around the restaurant and said, "You should come to my home, it's better if we talk there." Without waiting for our answer, he called the waitress and asked her to put all our food in to-go containers.  
  
We followed Kam, as he instructed us to call him, to his home which was  
  
five minutes north of the town, right on the beach. He took us into his dinning room and waited for us to eat lunch before he talked about Norris.  
  
"Charlie called me yesterday," Kam began. "And told me about the particulars of this case. Including what happened to poor Pikake."  
  
"Who is Pikake?" Alex asked, looking confused.  
  
"Catherine's middle name," I said.  
  
"Charlie told me that you and Pika, as I call Catherine, found out that  
  
you are sisters," Kam said to me. "I truly hope that she recovers soon."  
  
I nodded my thanks to him, surprised that he referred to Catherine as my sister rather than my half sister.  
  
"When Charlie told me that Norris had stolen the paintings," Kam said.  
  
"And that he returned here to Oahu, I know that I had to help the four of you to get them back. You see, ten years ago, six paintings were stolen from a  
  
temporary gallery that had been set up at the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. The police were never able to recover the art, or find out who had stolen them. I had suspected Norris, who acted very nervous if anyone mentioned the story in the days following the robbery. And when Charlie told me about this case, I knew my suspicions about the Iolani theft had been correct."  
  
"Is that why you are helping us?" Natalie asked. "To get the paintings  
  
back to the Iolani palace?"  
  
"Partially," Kam answered. "I also want revenge on those two bastards for what they did to my niece."  
  
"Then do you have any idea as to what we can do to get the paintings from Norris?" Alex asked.  
  
"I do," Kam said quickly. "I know that Norris is throwing a party slash ball for his homecoming and the upcoming holiday tomorrow night. He has invited me and I can get invitations for the four of you as well."  
  
"When will we be taking paintings?" I asked.  
  
"Towards the end of the ball," Kam said, smiling at me. "I'm afraid that you, Alex and Natalie, will have to distract Norris and Jacob in some way while Dylan, Anthony and I take the paintings."  
  
"That's okay," Natalie said cheerfully.  
  
"We can handle it," Alex said.  
  
"Good, now I'll call Norris and get the invitations for you," Kam said.  
  
He got up from his seat and left the dining room.  
  
While he was gone, we all discussed what Alex and Natalie should do to distract Norris and Jacob. We finally agreed that they would just keep the two men dancing when Kam came back into the room.  
  
"Ok, I have your invitations," Kam said. "Now we need to get your clothes for the party tomorrow."  
  
"I hope that you know somewhere we can go for that," I said. "Because we don't have any kind of formal clothes with us.  
  
"Luckily I do someone who will make some dresses for you three today," Kam said. "And I think that she may have a suit for you Anthony."  
  
"We'll go get our dresses," Alex said as we all stood up. "And then we'll have to find someplace to stay the night. Do you know if there are any hotels in Laie, Kam?"  
  
"I was going to offer you lodging in my home instead of you four staying in town," Kam said.  
  
"We wouldn't want to bother you," Natalie said.  
  
"You wouldn't be bothering me," Kam said. "I thought it was the least I could do for you since you are allowing me to help you lock Norris away."  
  
"I think we should take him up on his offer Alex," I said. "That way we won't be seen by Norris or Jacob in town."  
  
"Okay, we'll stay here then," Alex said to Kam.  
  
"Then before we leave, why don't I show you your rooms?" he asked. Kam  
  
waited for us to get our luggage before taking Natalie and Alex to the room  
  
they would be sleeping in.  
  
While they put their luggage away, Kam turned to me and Anthony. "You two will sleep in the guesthouse I have out back since there aren't enough rooms in the house," he said.  
  
We followed him out of his house and then over to a small one room cabin-like building. Inside was a large bed and a bathroom in a wing off to the side of the bedroom.  
  
Anthony and I put our luggage on the floor and then left the guesthouse.  
  
We joined up with Alex and Natalie and got into our rental car. We followed Kam to his friend's home, about ten minutes north of Kam, to get our o utfits for the party that Norris was throwing the next night. 


	23. XXIII:Robbing the Thief D & A

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXIII Robbing the Thief Dylan and Anthony  
  
The next evening, I was in the bathroom of Kam's guesthouse, putting on  
  
the dress I had chosen to wear to the party. I had to wear a brown-haired wig, so I had picked out a blue gown.  
  
"Anthony," I called out, looking in the mirror. "I need some help with  
  
my dress."  
  
The bathroom door opened and Anthony walked in.  
  
"I just need you to zip this for me," I said, indicating the open zipper on the back of my dress.  
  
Without saying a word, Anthony pulled up the zipper. When he was done,  
  
his arm snaked around my waist and rested on my abdomen. Then he started kissing my neck, which was exposed since my hair was tied up.  
  
I sighed and closed my eyes, putting one hand on top of his. After a few seconds, I reached back with my free hand and then turned my head so our lips met. Kissing in that position was making my neck start to hurt. So I turned around and faced Anthony.  
  
We could have stayed like that all night, but eventually Anthony pulled  
  
back from me. "We need to g-go," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I know," I said. He left the bathroom and I turned back to the sink and put on my makeup. Then I put in my contacts, making my eyes blue. The last thing I did was put on the brown-haired wig. I walked out into the room and said to Anthony, "How do I look?"  
  
He didn't answer, but his eyes went up and down my body. He nodded and  
  
gave me a devilish smirk.  
  
I laughed and then looked at myself in the full-length mirror next to the bed. The dress I had chosen was sleeveless and it had a wide white satin sash that had dark blue embroidery on it. The gown made my blue stand out a lot, and I had to admit that I looked pretty good.  
  
There was a knock on the door. "Are you guys ready?" Natalie asked.  
  
I looked over at Anthony and he nodded. "Yeah, we'll be right out," I said. I walked over to the bed and picked up the shawl that went with the dress. I wrapped it around my shoulders and then turned to Anthony. "Let's go," I said.  
  
Anthony walked over to me and took my hand in his. Then he led me out of the guesthouse.  
  
"Kam and Alex are out front," Natalie said as we walked to the house.  
  
"You and Alex sure about what you need to do?" I asked.  
  
"Yep, Alex told me I'd better take Norris," Natalie said, smiling a little grimly.  
  
"Good idea," I said seriously.  
  
Alex could be as kind and sweet as Natalie, but if you got her angry, she had a temper as bad as mine. Obviously Alex didn't want to risk beating up  
  
Norris when she had to dance with him, so she told Natalie to dance with him instead.  
  
We walked through the gate separating the front and backyard and walked  
  
over to Alex and Kam.  
  
"Okay, let's go over this one more time before we leave," Kam said, nervousness creeping into his voice. "We're going to wait until ten thirty to start. At that time, or near that time, Alex and Natalie, you're going to start dancing. Dylan and Anthony, you'll go to the backyard and wait for me by the basement window."  
  
"What about the police?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Charlie told me he wanted as little police involvement as possible," Kam answered. "Once you two get the paintings, bring them back here and put them in the crate. So does everyone understand what we're going to be doing?" We all nodded and Kam said, "Alright, let's go."  
  
Anthony  
  
He placed his arm around Dylan's waist and rested it on her hip.  
  
"Ten minutes," Dylan whispered to him, placing her hand over the one on  
  
her hip.  
  
Anthony gave a quick nod and allowed his eyes to scan the room where the party was taking place, trying to ignore his itching scalp. He had to wear a wig again, and he had chosen a gray one. He also had to wear contacts, this time on both eyes, and they were brown.  
  
"Dance with me?" Dylan suddenly asked.  
  
He glanced down at her surprise and then nodded. He led her onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around Dylan's waist.  
  
"Watch the time," Dylan whispered to him quickly. Then she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
As they swayed gently to the slow music, Anthony kept an eye on the clock at the back of the room. The song finished a minutes later, and it was ten  
  
thirty. "Time," he whispered to Dylan.  
  
She kissed him deeply in response and when she broke away, she smiled.  
  
"Let's go get some air," she said, loud enough for the people who had been looking at them to hear.  
  
Anthony let go of Dylan and then took her hand. He pulled her out of the room and onto the patio.  
  
Dylan turned to Anthony and kissed him before putting her chin on his shoulder, looking into the house. "They're dancing," she whispered, indicating Alex and Natalie. "We can go." She let go of him and then went down the steps to the grass. With Anthony following her, she walked along the side of the  
  
house until they came to a basement window, where Kam was waiting for them.  
  
Dylan  
  
My heart was in my throat as Anthony took the paintings from Kam and lay them on the grass. I was afraid that at any moment, Norris or Jacob would come out and shoot us.  
  
Luckily, no one came outside or wandered down to the basement where Kam  
  
was as we took the paintings.  
  
When the last piece had been pushed through the window, Kam peered through it. "Get to your car," he whispered. "I'll be coming with the other two as soon as possible."  
  
Anthony and I both nodded. Then we picked up the pile of art and walked as quickly and as carefully as we could to our car in the dark. We hurriedly put the paintings in the trunk and got into the car, driving toward Kam's house.  
  
Ten minutes later, as Anthony and I were about to start to pack the paintings in the crate in the living room, Kam, Natalie and Alex came into the house.  
  
"Dylan, why don't you go change into more comfortable clothes and you too Alex, Natalie," Kam said. "I'll help Anthony with the art.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right back," I said. I turned and picked up the skirt of my dress and walked out the house to the guesthouse. I quickly changed into black pants and a blouse before running back to the house.  
  
As I approached the back door, I noticed smoke coming out of the open windows. I opened the door and ran inside, thinking that a fire had started. When I looked around, I realized that the smoke was actually gas and it burned my eyes. I then hurried into the living room and gasped in surprised to see that Anthony and Kam were unconscious on the floor next to the crate. I looked past them- and saw Alex and Natalie passed out on the floor under a window. I heard some rustling behind me and I whirled around.  
  
"Hullo Ms. Sanders," Jacob said, grinning. Then he raised his arm and hit me with a rifle before I could react.  
  
I fell to the ground, my forehead bleeding. As I fell unconscious, I heard Norris come into the room and speak to Jacob.  
  
"Good work, now let's round them up and go," Norris said.  
  
I closed my eyes and let the blackness engulf me fully. 


	24. XXIV:Questions and Answers Dylan

A/N: Thanks to Skyfire4 and especially Barbayat for your reviews. Hope that you enjoy this chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXIV Questions and Answers Dylan  
  
I came out of unconsciousness and didn't have any idea where I was. I looked around me and I saw that I was in a cell, laying on a cot. I sat up and then fell back down as a wave of dizziness passed through me. I lifted my hand to touch my forehead, and found that my wrists were bound together by handcuffs and rope.  
  
The door to the cell opened then and Jacob stepped into the room. "Hope that you're well rested," he said, his lips curling back into a sneer. "My  
  
father wants to speak to you and you lover." He spat out the word "lover" as if it were tainted. He strode over to the cot and grabbed my arm, lifting me up roughly. Then he dragged me out of the cell and down a hallway to a flight  
  
of stairs.  
  
I was having a hard time walking. My legs had been chained, so I couldn't take normal steps. As we went up the stairs, I almost fell, but Jacob dragged me back up.  
  
At the top of the steps, we walking into a large room. In the middle was a long mahogany table. Sitting in the chair at the head of the table was Norris. Tied to another chair on the side, was Anthony.  
  
"Anthony!" I cried as Jacob pushed me across the room.  
  
Anthony lifted his head slightly and his eyes seemed to lighten for a moment when he saw me. He had been beaten, both of his eyes were black and blood was dribbling from the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Hello Dylan," Norris said as Jacob forced me into the chair across from Anthony. "Ready Jacob?" he then asked his son as Jacob sat in the chair at  
  
the other end of the table.  
  
"More then ready Father," Jacob said, glaring at me.  
  
"Very well," Norris said. "Dylan, I am sure that you have some questions for me?"  
  
I looked at Norris, he was insane. He had to be, telling me to ask him  
  
questions as if we were at a dinner party. I cleared my throat, which gave me a minute to think. Even though I thought he was mad, I would have to take advantage and find out as much as I could. "Where are Alex, Natalie and Kamaaina?" was my first question.  
  
"Your two associates, the two woman who where so kind as to dance with us," Norris began. "Should be in Los Angeles by now. Is that correct Jacob?"  
  
"They got there a half hour ago," Jacob answered.  
  
"And Kam?" I asked, feeling my throat become dry.  
  
"I killed him," Jacob said calmly.  
  
I turned to look at him, he was as insane as his father. 'How had Cathy managed to live with them for so long?' I thought. "Why?" I said out loud.  
  
Jacob snorted and said, "He helped you take the paintings."  
  
"But he was your uncle," I said. "How-" Norris and Jacob's laughter cut me off.  
  
"So what?" Jacob asked.  
  
"Catherine was my daughter," Norris said.  
  
"And she was my sister," Jacob said.  
  
"But that didn't stop us from beating her," Norris said.  
  
I lowered my head at the mention of Catherine. After a few moments, I looked up again, and was surprised when I felt a tear splash on my bound hands.  
  
"Ah yes. Jacob told me how close you and your half-sister Catherine have become," Norris said.  
  
I looked over at Norris, and the surprise must have been evident on my face.  
  
"Oh yes Dylan," he said. "I have known that you are my daughter since you told me that story about finding your real parents, the day you and Mr.  
  
O'Kelly picked up your Ice."  
  
"Why let us take the paintings if you knew who I was?" I asked.  
  
"I wanted to see how far you could get," Norris said. He stood up and then started walking in a circle around the table. "You see, I had this idea that maybe you would sabotage Kam and your lover when you stole the art. Unfortunately you didn't- and I saw that you had inherited your mother's 'goody two shoes' nature."  
  
I turned in my seat and glared at Norris. "So what if I have?" I spat at him angrily.  
  
"Oh nothing," Norris said, stopping behind his chair and resting his hands on the top of the back of it. "But it may influence your decision in my offer to you."  
  
"What offer?" I asked, confused.  
  
"To join me and Jacob for our next robbery," Norris said.  
  
"Are you out of your mind?" I cried.  
  
"I told you Father," Jacob said.  
  
"Yes, well," Norris said, pursing his lips together. "You should know that the alternative to not come with us is that we will kill you and your lover."  
  
I looked across the table at Anthony.  
  
He was pale and his nose had started to bleed. Even so, he stared at me fixedly and tried to give me an answer with his eyes.  
  
"No deal," I said, looking back at Norris.  
  
"Hmm, such a pity," Norris answered. "You would have been a great help  
  
to us."  
  
"Shall I go and make sure the room is ready Father?" Jacob asked, standing up.  
  
"Yes, but be quick about it," Norris said. "I want to leave soon."  
  
As Jacob walked to a large pair of doors behind the table, I turned to Norris. "Where are we?" I asked.  
  
"My castle in Ireland," Norris said. "Oh, and by the way. Your half-sister's condition hasn't changed."  
  
"How do you know that?" I asked in surprise.  
  
"I have contacts in L.A. that are watching her for me," Norris answered.  
  
"Are you going to kill her?" I asked, my voice hollow.  
  
"No, I think that would be a horrible thing to do," Norris said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"You're going to kill me," I said. "Your daughter."  
  
"Ah, but here's the thing Dylan," Norris said. "I do not consider you my daughter."  
  
"Did you love my mom at all?" I asked.  
  
"No, I just wanted to get her in bed," Norris said. "And she did that pretty willingly. Just like you, I have heard."  
  
Anthony gave a low growl and then snarled angrily at Norris.  
  
"Oh come now," Norris said to Anthony. "I'm sure that she slept with you soon after you two met."  
  
Before Anthony or I could reply to that, the doors at the far end of the room opened and Jacob stepped into the room. "Everything's ready Father," he said.  
  
Norris laughed and clasped his hands together. "Now the real fun shall  
  
begin." 


	25. XXV:A Fight to the Death Dylan

A/N: Thanks to villianbabe and Skyfire4. I am so glad that you guys are taking the time to read and review!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXV A Fight to the Death Dylan  
  
Anthony and I were released from our chairs by Jacob. I was first, and  
  
as soon as I stood up, Norris pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at me.  
  
"If you try and get away," Norris said. "I'll kill you." He walked over to me and grabbed my upper arm.  
  
Jacob, meanwhile, had untied Anthony and helped him to stand. Then he pulled out a gun from his own jacket. He pushed Anthony, who walked around the table towards the doors that he had come out of earlier.  
  
Norris gave me a small push then, and I too started to walk towards the  
  
doors.  
  
Jacob opened one of the doors and shoved Anthony so hard that he fell on the floor inside the room.  
  
I walked into the room and looked around as Jacob helped Anthony stand up.  
  
The room was circular and very plain. The only decorations, if you could call them that, were various weapons like swords and pistols hanging on the  
  
walls. I then realized what this room was.  
  
"You catch on quickly, don't you Dylan?" Norris said, a pleased expression on his face. "This room was Jacob's idea. A place where we could bring people who try and go against us."  
  
"And what," I said. "You have a fight to the death?"  
  
Norris just smiled- and I got my answer.  
  
"Father," Jacob then said. "Do you want me to get some swords or let them free first?"  
  
"Get the weapons first Jacob," Norris said. "I will keep an eye on these two."  
  
Anthony stumbled over to me and touched my hands with his own bound ones in a reassuring way.  
  
"You know Dylan," Norris said, watching us. "I thought that you would pick a better man to sleep with or whatever it is you two do."  
  
I felt my cheeks flush with anger, and I stepped forward suddenly.  
  
Anthony grabbed my arm and stopped me before I could get myself shot.  
  
Jacob came back to where we were standing, four swords in their scabbards in his arms. He set them down on the table that was next to Norris. Then he took out one sword and walked over to me and Anthony. He cut through the ropes that held my wrists together, and then did the same to Anthony. Jacob walked back to the table and set the sword down. He pulled a key out of his jacket and then took the handcuffs and chains off me and Anthony.  
  
Norris waited for Jacob to pull out his gun and point it at us before he turned and walked over to the table with swords on it. He pulled two out of their scabbards and slid them along the tile floor to me and Anthony.  
  
"Pick those up, slowly," Jacob said, his finger on the trigger of his gun.  
  
Anthony and I knelt down and picked up the swords, both of which had blades like Anthony's cane sword. All four of the swords Jacob brought had the same type of blades.  
  
Norris had withdrew the last sword and then he placed his gun on the table. He grabbed the sword Jacob had used earlier. He then walked over to his son and handed him his sword.  
  
Jacob then threw his gun behind him. It sailed out of the room and back towards the table where we had been earlier.  
  
The next thing I knew, Norris was attacking me, brandishing his sword like a madman.  
  
I did my best to try to defend myself every time Norris tried to cut me, but it was hard the way he would slash at me.  
  
Norris seemed to be aware of the difficulty I was having fighting him, and he attacked me more viciously. At that point the edge of his blade cut me on my arms and then stomach.  
  
Although he was winning, Norris forehead began to drip with sweat.  
  
I saw that and I realized what I could do to beat him. I let him continue to slash at me, and I did my best to keep him from wounding me fatally.  
  
Finally, Norris began to grow weak and his slash were become less and less strong.  
  
I saw my chance then and I kicked him squarely in the chest.  
  
Norris flew back and hit the wall with a thud. He then slid to the ground, unconscious.  
  
I turned to see if I could help Anthony at all.  
  
Jacob and Anthony had somehow gone to the back of the room. Both had small cuts all over their upper bodies that were bleeding slightly.  
  
I ran towards them, and I could see that Jacob was winning. If he managed to push Anthony against the wall, Jacob would kill him. At that thought, I put on an extra burst of speed with my sword ready to strike. When I got to Jacob, he already had Anthony pushed up against the wall and was about to stab him when I acted. I thrust my sword through Jacob's heart, so hard that the other end of the blade protruded from his chest.  
  
Jacob looked down at the blade and then he gasped in pain as I pulled the sword from his body. He turned to face me and he hissed, "Bitch. Murderer!" He then collapsed on his knees and screamed, "Mother!" as he fell to the ground. He was dead.  
  
I dropped my sword and stepped over Jacob's body, throwing my arms around Anthony. "I just killed my brother," I said, hugging him tightly.  
  
"H-half brother," Anthony said, holding me tightly with one arm.  
  
I pushed away from him slightly and asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
"F-fine," Anthony answered. "And-" He stopped suddenly and threw me to the side.  
  
As I fell to the floor, I heard Norris scream, "Let me to her you son of a bitch! She killed my son!"  
  
I turned my head and saw that Norris was trying his hardest to get past  
  
Anthony.  
  
They started to fight then, Norris trying to kill Anthony, and Anthony trying to keep Norris away from me.  
  
Only a few minutes into the fight, I could see that Norris was beginning to tire, and he was going to strike out at Anthony with all the strength he  
  
had left. "Look out!" I yelled to Anthony.  
  
Without a moments hesitation, Anthony thrust his sword straight into Norris' heart.  
  
Norris had been thrusting his sword at the same time, and it cut through Anthony's arm. Then he dropped to the ground next to Jacob and closed his eyes- he was dead. 


	26. XXVI:A Happy Event and Good News Dylan

A/N: Thanks so much to my diligent reviewers villianbabe and Skyfire4, you guys are the greatest in the world!  
  
A/N #2: In response to your review Skyfire4, no Anthony does not lose his arm. I would never do that to him.  
  
A/N #3: I really would like a long review (if it's possible) since it took me awhile to write this chapter. Thanks in advance.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXVI A Happy Event and Good News Dylan  
  
"It's so amazing that you guys out of there without getting seriously hurt," Natalie exclaimed.  
  
I smiled at her and squeezed Anthony's hand. We were at our house sitting on the couch in the living room two weeks after we had been kidnapped. Natalie and Alex had come to visit us.  
  
Once Norris had died, I found a telephone in the castle and called Bosley. He had contacted Charlie, who had some of his contacts in Ireland come to the castle and take Norris and Jacob's bodies away. Two other contacts of Charlie's took me and Anthony to a nearby home where we were cleaned up and fed before being driven to Dublin and catching a plane to L.A.  
  
Alex and Natalie had been put on a plane to L.A. the night Norris had taken me and Anthony. Norris had also sent the crate with the art to the Getty Museum.  
  
"I still don't get why Norris sent the art back to the museum," Alex said.  
  
"I doubt any will ever know," I said.  
  
We were all quiet for a few minutes before Natalie spoke. "So how is your cut Anthony?" she asked.  
  
Anthony squeezed my hand before saying, "Fine." He then stood up and said, "Ex-cuse me." He nodded to me and then left the room, going upstairs.  
  
I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was almost time for me and Anthony to leave.  
  
"Dylan, is he really okay?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, he'll be fine," I answered.  
  
Norris had only managed to graze Anthony's arm before he had died. Even so, the cut had bled a lot.  
  
"How is Catherine doing?" Natalie then asked.  
  
"She's a lot happier now that she's out of the hospital," I said smiling.  
  
Catherine had woken up from her coma the same day that Norris and Jacob  
  
had died. She had to stay in the hospital for a week and a half after that, but now she was home.  
  
Anthony suddenly appeared in the doorway of the living room.  
  
"Oh," I said, looking over at the clock. "I hate to kick you guys out,  
  
but Anthony and I have to go."  
  
Natalie and Alex looked at each other and then looked over at me.  
  
"Sorry guys," I said, smiling sheepishly and standing up. "But we'll see you tomorrow at the office."  
  
"Okay," Alex said, standing up. "See you tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah, bye Dylan. Bye Anthony," Natalie said, standing up and following Alex out of the house.  
  
I turned to Anthony and said, "I'll get changed and be right down." Before he could say anything, I ran up the stairs and to our room. I changed quickly into more formal clothes. I had the blue skirt I had worn earlier in the case and a plain black blouse. I slipped on a pair of low-heeled black shoes and I hurried downstairs to Anthony.  
  
When he saw me coming down the stairs, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed his car keys.  
  
I grabbed a coat and then went through the kitchen and out to Anthony's  
  
car.  
  
Anthony pulled into the parking space next to Adam's green BMW and then  
  
turned off the car.  
  
We got out of the car and Adam hurried over to us.  
  
"Sorry we're late," I said.  
  
"It's okay," Adam said. "Caty and the minister are waiting inside."  
  
The three of us walked into the tiny chapel where Catherine was sitting  
  
in a pew, a minister standing in the row in front of her.  
  
"They're here," Adam said as Catherine and the minister looked over at us.  
  
"Good," the minister said smiling. "If you two will come with me."  
  
Anthony and I walked over to a table where a piece of paper and pen were.  
  
"Just sign right her and then we can begin with the ceremony," the minister said, pointing to a long line in the middle of the paper.  
  
I picked up the pen and quickly signed my name before giving it to Anthony.  
  
He took the pen and signed: Anthony Carre, using the last name that Charlie had given to him for times like this.  
  
"Well, let's get started," the minister said, smiling at us.  
  
As Anthony and I sat down in the front pew, I thought about the fact that Adam and Catherine had such a small wedding, when they had a lot of friends  
  
who would have loved to come. I shook my head slightly as the minister, standing on the altar in front of Adam and Catherine, began speaking.  
  
The minister talked about love and marriage along with religious stuff,  
  
the kind of stuff that bored me to death when I heard it. Now however, I paid close attention since this was my sister that was getting married.  
  
Half way into the ceremony, I felt Anthony take my hand. I looked over  
  
at him and smiled brightly.  
  
Anthony gave me a faint grin and then held my hand a little tighter.  
  
I covered his hand with my free one and turned my attention back to my sister and Adam.  
  
Finally, they exchanged rings and then the minister pronounced them man  
  
and wife. Adam kissed Catherine on the cheek and then the ceremony was over.  
  
"Oh Dylan, I'm so happy that you both came!" Catherine cried as Anthony  
  
and I came into their new house that was in Santa Monica.  
  
"I probably would have crashed the chapel if you hadn't invited me in the first place," I said, hugging Catherine.  
  
She laughed and then let me go. She nodded to Anthony and said, "So what do you think of the house?"  
  
"I love it," I said, walking into the kitchen. "Hi Adam."  
  
"Hey Dylan, Anthony," Adam said, drying his hands off with a dish towel.  
  
"Come and sit down in here you two," Catherine said. "Adam and I have something to tell you."  
  
"Two things Caty," Adam said, correcting her.  
  
"Oh right," Catherine said.  
  
We all sat at the table in the dining room except for Adam, who poured out wine for himself, Anthony and me.  
  
Catherine poured a can of soda into a glass for herself and said, "The  
  
first thing is that, Adam and I." She paused and looked over at Adam, a smile on her face. "We're going to have a baby!"  
  
"Cathy, that wonderful!" I said. I got up from my chair and went over to hug her. "Congratulations Adam." I sat back in my chair and asked, "How far along are you?"  
  
"About three months now," Catherine answered.  
  
"I can't believe it," I said. "I'm going to be an aunt!"  
  
"Not just that, if you agree to it," Catherine said. "Adam and I would  
  
like you to stand as the baby's godparents when we baptize it."  
  
"I would love to," I said immediately.  
  
Adam, Catherine and I looked over at Anthony, waiting for his answer.  
  
"I would like to as w-well," Anthony said slowly, smiling softly.  
  
Catherine smiled and said, "Thank you guys so much!"  
  
"What about the second thing Cathy?" I asked.  
  
"We have given Natalie and Alex gifts to thank them for getting the paintings back," Adam said. "We got them trips to France and Italy with their boyfriends."  
  
"And for you two," Catherine said. "We bought you a nice house two doors down from here."  
  
I looked over at Anthony in shock, then looked back at Catherine. "Y- you didn't have to do that for us," I said.  
  
"Well I know how much you two love Santa Monica," Catherine said. "And  
  
it would be great if you guys could be near you godchild."  
  
"You two don't need to take the house if you don't want to though," Adam said.  
  
I glanced at Anthony, and he nodded to me. "We'll take it," I said, smiling. "When can we move in?"  
  
"In a week," Catherine said. "We'll go take a look at the house after dinner."  
  
"Speaking of which, it's ready," Adam said, coming into the dinning room from the kitchen, carrying some plates with food on them.  
  
We started eating then, Catherine, Adam and I chatting, with Anthony speaking once in a while. 


	27. XXVII:Nightmare and a Long Vacation

A/N: Thanks for your very nice review villianbabe! And this chapter has the Anthony/Dylan WAFFiness that you were waiting for!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXVII Nightmare and a Long Vacation Dylan and Anthony  
  
After dinner was over and all the dishes had been clean, we left the house to look at the home that Catherine and Adam had bought for me and Anthony.  
  
Since the house was only two houses away, Catherine suggested that we take a walk around the block after. Adam, Anthony and I agreed, and we set off, Catherine and me going first, walking arm in arm.  
  
"Well here you are Dylan, Anthony," Catherine said, stopping. "You're new home."  
  
I looked at the house and fell in love with it immediately. It was a light blue with white trim. It had a beautiful front yard which was fenced in with a dark wood fence. The house itself was only one story.  
  
"I know that the house you've got now is two stories Dylan," Catherine said next to me. "But that house has what, three rooms? This house has got four, plus a guesthouse in the backyard."  
  
"How big is the backyard?" I asked, surprised.  
  
"Not that big," Adam said.  
  
"Right. And the guest house isn't that big either," Catherine said. "It's only a bedroom and a bathroom."  
  
I nodded and looked at the house one more time. "I love it Cathy," I said, taking her hand and squeezing it in thanks.  
  
"Good," Catherine said, her eyes shinning. She then let go of my hand and slipped her arm though mine. "Let's go around the block."  
  
We walked pass the house an then around the block. Catherine and I chatted about her upcoming baby and what names she and I liked for it.  
  
When we got back to their house, I told Catherine and Adam that Anthony  
  
and I had to get home.  
  
"Really Dylan?" Catherine asked sadly as she took off her coat.  
  
"Yeah, we've got to be at the Agency tomorrow morning," I answered.  
  
"And you need to get some rest Caty," Adam said sternly.  
  
"Okay, okay," Catherine said, sighing. "But you'll call me later, right Dylan?"  
  
"Of course," I said. I hugged Catherine and kissed her cheek quickly.  
  
"Goodnight Dylan," Catherine said. "'Night Anthony."  
  
"Goodnight you guys," Adam said, nodding to us.  
  
"Goodnight," Anthony said quietly. He then put his hand on my back and  
  
led me out of the house, towards his car.  
  
When we got back to the house, I went straight upstairs and changed into my pajamas. As I took my hair out of it's bun, I heard Anthony come into the room. I started to brush my hair when I felt two arms go around my waist.  
  
Anthony  
  
He pulled Dylan close to him, burying his face into her hair and smelling it's exotic fragrance. His desire for her rushed through his body so quickly that he felt his heart beating crazily. He then realized that Dylan was saying something to him, but he didn't care, he just wanted to get her over to the bed.  
  
"Hopefully the vacation Charlie gives us will be long enough for us to start packing-" Dylan began to say. She stopped speaking when Anthony started kissing her neck softly. "Anthony," she said breathily. "Are you sure you're up to it? I mean, you lost a lot of blood-" She was quickly silenced when he bit her softly on the neck where her pulse was. She moaned in response and realized that she had her answer- he was definately going to make love to her.  
  
Dylan  
  
I sat up in bed suddenly, the nightmare I just had waking me up. I felt myself breathing hard and my body was slick with sweat.  
  
"Dylan?" Anthony asked, sitting up next to me. "Are you okay?"  
  
I closed my eyes and then said, "I'm fine, it was just a nightmare." I  
  
lay back down on my pillow, pulling the sheets and comforter over my naked body so I could get warm.  
  
"You've had a nightmare since Norris died," Anthony said, laying down.  
  
I was quiet, not wanting to let him know that he was right. Ever since  
  
we had come back from Ireland, I would have the same nightmare every night. I would dream that instead of Norris being killed, it was Anthony who was stabbed in the heart.  
  
Anthony placed his hand on my cheek and then turned my head so that I was looking at him.  
  
I stared into his blue eyes, and I saw that he already knew what my nightmare was about. I threw my arms around Anthony and hugged him as tightly as I could.  
  
Anthony wrapped his arms around my waist and then he started to run his  
  
hands up and down my back.  
  
I sighed with pleasure as he lay me down on my back and then started kissing me all over my body.  
  
As we began to make love, Anthony whispered my name over and over. Also, I could have sworn I heard him whisper, "Mine, mine," at one point. But then I became distracted and didn't think about it again.  
  
"Good morning Angels, Anthony," Charlie said from his speakerphone.  
  
"Good morning Charlie," Alex, Natalie and I answered.  
  
"Morning Charlie," Anthony then said.  
  
"I want to start off by saying that I am very pleased with how this last case went," Charlie began. "Although there are some things I would rather not have happened."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence in the office. We all knew that Charlie was talking about Kamaaina Crown's death.  
  
Charlie cleared his throat and then spoke again. "that leads me to some bad news," he said. "Since Mr. Crown was one of my many contacts, it seems  
  
that all of my other contacts are refusing too give any help to the Agency.  
  
They are fearful of being killed themselves."  
  
"What are you going to do then Charlie?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Well I will have to speak with each one of my contacts," Charlie answered. "And I have decided to close the Agency until I can get my contacts to agree to help us again."  
  
"How long will that take?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," Charlie answered. "Once I am prepared to open the Agency again, Bosley will call each of you. Enjoy your vacation girls, and have a  
  
happy holidays."  
  
After our meeting with Charlie was over, Alex, Natalie and I were outside the Agency, talking.  
  
"I hope that you guys have fun on your trips," I said.  
  
Alex and Jason were leaving for Italy and Natalie and Pete were leaving  
  
for France this afternoon.  
  
"I'm sure we will," Alex said, smiling.  
  
"Is it okay that we won't be here for Christmas Dylan?" Natalie asked.  
  
"Sure," I said, smiling. "Anthony and I will have our hands full with moving into the new house. Oh, and speaking of Christmas..." I walked over to my car, which Anthony was standing next to, and got out four presents. I walked back and handed two gifts to Alex and two to Natalie. "I only had time to get one gift for each-" I began to say.  
  
"That's alright Dylan," Alex said.  
  
"Yeah, thanks so much," Natalie said. She then reached over and hugged  
  
me with one arm.  
  
"Thank you Dylan," Alex said, hugging me one armed too.  
  
"You're welcome guys," I answered.  
  
"Nat, we've got to go," Alex said, looking at her watch. "Bye Dylan, bye Anthony. Merry Christmas."  
  
As Alex hurried over to her car, Natalie said to me, "We mailed yours and Anthony's presents to your house. We weren't really sure what to get Anthony, so..."  
  
"That's okay," I said. "You'd better get going, you don't want to miss  
  
your flight."  
  
"Right," Natalie said. "Bye Dylan, Anthony. Have a great Christmas!"  
  
With that she turned and ran over to Alex's car.  
  
Once Natalie was in, Alex turned on her car and they drove off to LAX to meet Jason and Pete and to catch their flights to France and Italy. 


	28. XXVIII:Christmas Eve Dylan

A/N: Hope you like this chapter villianbabe, and thanks a lot for your kind  
  
review of the last chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXVIII Christmas Eve Dylan  
  
I got out of my car and ran to the trunk, opening it and picking up the  
  
plastic bags inside. I closed the trunk and put on the car alarm. I then ran to the house, trying to get out of the rain as fast as I could. I opened the back door and stepped inside the kitchen, setting the bags on the counter.  
  
"Hi," Anthony said as I walked into the family room.  
  
"Hey, you've got the tree up," I said, taking off my coat and hanging it in the entryway closet.  
  
"When will we de-decorate it?" Anthony asked.  
  
"As soon as I come back from changing into some dry clothes," I answered. "While I'm doing that, get the tree lights out and make sure they work okay?" I walked over to him and kissed him quickly on the lips as he nodded.  
  
He then got the Christmas tree light out of the box that I had put them  
  
in last year.  
  
I walked down the hallway to Anthony's and my room. I went into the bathroom, taking off my wet clothes and then wrapping a towel around me. I used another towel to quickly rub my hair dry. I then went over to my closet and changed into black pants and a loose silver blouse with billowing sleeves. I brushed my hair and then walked back to the family room to help Anthony decorate the tree.  
  
I usually did my Christmas decorating during the first weekend of December. This year however, with moving into the new house, I did not get to decorate until today, which was Christmas Eve.  
  
When I walked into the family room, Anthony was looking through one of my boxes of ornaments.  
  
"Do all the lights work?" I asked him.  
  
"I tried all the ones you had in the bag and they work," Anthony answered.  
  
"Okay, let's start," I said, picking up a strand of multicolored lights.  
  
It took five minutes for Anthony and I to put the lights and the silver  
  
beads on the tree.  
  
When that was done, I took out a red box from one of the storage boxes that I kept my Christmas decorations. I opened the box and took out the star that I put on top of the tree every year.  
  
The star was clear glass with some shards of blue and gold on it. There was a light bulb inside that made the blue and gold shine on the walls when it was plugged in. I had bought this star when I had gone to Wales for a month three years ago.  
  
I handed the star to Anthony, who easily reached up and set the star on  
  
the top of the tree. I plugged the star into the chord as the lights and then I hurried over to the boxes. "We can start putting up the ornaments," I told Anthony, handing him a shoe box with ornaments inside.  
  
Anthony and I hurriedly hung all the ornaments that were in each of my five shoe boxes I used to store them. Once we were done, Anthony went to our room to change and I went into the kitchen to start the cooking I had to do.  
  
Adam and Catherine were coming over in an hour for dinner and then we would exchange presents.  
  
At six o'clock, the doorbell rang and I hurried out of the kitchen to open the door. "Hey you guys," I said once I opened the door. I stepped back and let Catherine and Adam into the house.  
  
"It's pouring like crazy out there," Catherine said, struggling for a moment to take off her jacket.  
  
"I'm going to put this in the oven Dylan," Adam said. He was carrying a pan covered with aluminum foil.  
  
"Sure, go ahead," I said. I went to Catherine and helped her take off her jacket.  
  
"Thanks Dylan," Catherine said as I hung the coat on a hook next to the  
  
closet.  
  
"You're welcome," I said. "Come on and sit," I said, taking her arm and leading her to the couch.  
  
"Wait, I want to look at your ornaments," Catherine said, seeing the tree. She walked over to it and started looking at the ornaments.  
  
"Dylan," Adam said, coming out of the kitchen. "I've got to run over to the house, so leave the door unlocked for me."  
  
"Alright," I said as he left the house.  
  
"You've got a beautiful tree Dylan," Catherine said. "Oh, when are we going to open up the presents?"  
  
I laughed and said, "I figured we should do that after dinner."  
  
The front door opened and Adam walked inside, carrying a paper bag.  
  
Then Anthony walked into the house, and he too was carrying a paper bag.  
  
"Did you get the gift Adam?" Catherine asked as he and Anthony went over to the tree and took presents out of the paper bags.  
  
"It's there Caty, don't worry," Adam said in a reassuring tone of voice. When he had emptied his paper bag, he stood up and said, "Dinner should be ready about now, I know that the turkey is done."  
  
"Yeah, the stuff I made is done," I said. "Let's eat."  
  
After we had finished cleaning up the dishes, we gathered in the family  
  
room to open the presents.  
  
Anthony quickly made a fire while I plugged in the tree lights.  
  
"Adam," Catherine said as she sat down on the couch. "Go get the gift."  
  
Adam nodded and then walked to the back of the house, towards the garage.  
  
"Where's he going?" I asked as I sat down in an armchair.  
  
"You'll see," Catherine said cryptically.  
  
I heard the garage door open, and then Adam came into the room, leading  
  
something in.  
  
"A dog!" I cried when I saw what it was. I got up from my chair and went over to it. "Is this for us?" I asked Catherine and Adam, letting the dog smell my hand.  
  
"Yep," Catherine answered, obviously pleased with my reaction.  
  
"But," I started to say as I thought of something. "What will we do with it when Anthony and I have a case?"  
  
"We'll take care of it then," Adam said.  
  
I smiled widely and hugged him quickly. Then I went over to Catherine and hugged her tightly. "Thanks so much Cathy," I said.  
  
"I'm glad you like him," Catherine said. She let go of me and then said, "How do you like him Anthony?"  
  
Anthony, who had gone over to the dog and was petting it, smiled softly. "Thank you both," he said slowly. Then he asked, "What is his b-breed?"  
  
"He's an Irish Wolfhound," Catherine answered.  
  
"We'll have to pick an Irish or Celtic name," I said, walking over to Anthony and the dog.  
  
"Do that later," Catherine said impatiently. "Let's open the rest of the presents!"  
  
Anthony and I smiled at each other, then we sat back down in our armchairs. The dog sat next to my chair and stayed there the entire time we exchanged gifts. 


	29. XXIX:Christmas Anthony and Dylan

A/N: Thanks for your reviews villianbabe and Skyfire4! They were greatly appreciated!  
  
A/N #2: There's a surprise in this chappy, please tell me what you think about it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXIX Christmas Anthony and Dylan  
  
At six o'clock the next morning, Anthony woke up and got out of bed without waking Dylan up.  
  
The Irish Wolfhound, whom Dylan had named Conner, raised his head from the large pillow he been sleeping on.  
  
Pulling on his robe, Anthony walked down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms they used as guest rooms. He opened the closet door and took out a paper bag with presents in it. Leaving the bedroom, he went to the family room. He walked over to the tree and smiled when he saw the gifts to him from Dylan. Obviously she had put them there once she had put them there once he had fallen asleep.  
  
As he started to place Dylan's gifts in between in between his, he heard a panting noise behind him and he whirled around.  
  
It was only Conner, sitting on his haunches and looking at Anthony with  
  
sad eyes.  
  
"Shh," Anthony said, putting his finger to his lips. He turned back to  
  
the tree and finished placing the gifts underneath, taking great care with the last gift.  
  
When he was done, Anthony stood up and walked over to the couch. He sat down and looked over at Conner. "Come here boy," he said, beckoning to him.  
  
The dog stood and jumped up onto the cushions, laying down and placing his head on Anthony's knee.  
  
Anthony sat on the couch, petting Conner and watching the clock impatiently. Dylan had told him the night before that if he woke up before her, that he could wake her up at seven, but not before.  
  
Seven finally came, and Anthony got up off the couch. He left the family room and walked down the hallway to their bedroom.  
  
Dylan  
  
I woke up and heard the light patter of rain on the skylight in the bathroom. I sighed and burrowed under the sheets and comforter further so I could get warm. Then I heard Anthony walking down the hall to the room and I remembered that it was Christmas.  
  
"Dylan," Anthony whispered, standing next to the bed. He put his hand on my shoulder and shook me softly.  
  
I opened my eyes and then turned to him, smiling. "Merry Christmas," I  
  
said.  
  
Anthony smiled back and said, "Good morning."  
  
I sat up and yawned. "Could you grab my robe for me?" I asked.  
  
He had already gotten it when he had come in and he held it open for me.  
  
I got out of bed and slipped on my robe with Anthony's help. I turned and kissed him on the lips. "Let's go and open our presents," I said.  
  
Anthony nodded eagerly and he took my hand. He pulled me out of the room. and towards the family room.  
  
"Good morning Conner," I said when we stepped into the family room. I patted his head head and then said, "I should give him some food." I let go of Anthony's hand and walked into the kitchen. I filled Conner's food dish with the food Adam and Catherine had given us the night before. I washed my hands quickly before going into the family room and sitting on the floor in front of the armchair where Anthony was sitting.  
  
"Let's open the gifts from Alex and Natalie first," I said. I went to the tree and grabbed the box that held the gifts from them. Using a knife I brought from the kitchen, I opened the box and took out four presents. Two I handed to Anthony, the other two I started opening.  
  
Anthony  
  
It took them almost an hour and a half to open all the presents under the tree.  
  
Dylan had enjoyed all the gifts she had from Anthony, squeezing his hand softly every time she opened one.  
  
Anthony liked all his presents from Dylan. His favorite, though, was the silver ID bracelet with Dylan's name and birth date engraved on it.  
  
Dylan was looking around the bottom of the tree to make sure she hadn't  
  
missed any gifts. She was about to sit back up when she noticed the light blue ribbon with a D on it hanging down.  
  
Anthony had been watching her and he smiled when he saw she had noticed  
  
the ribbon.  
  
Dylan reached out and gave the ribbon a gentle tug. A small wrapped box fell into her hand and she sat back, looking at Anthony  
  
Dylan  
  
I looked down at the gift in surprise. Why had Anthony been so careful  
  
to hide this so I would see it last? I thought about that for a moment, and then the answer came to me with a start.  
  
I started to tear off the paper, my hands trembling slightly and my heart beating wildly. I took the last of the paper off, not surprised to see the  
  
velvet jewelry box in my hand. I hesitated a moment before lifting the lid off the box.  
  
I saw what was inside and I breathed, "Oooh."  
  
Anthony  
  
He'd had a feeling that Dylan would realized that Dylan would realize what the gift was before she tore off the paper. Still, Anthony was glad to see the surprise on her face.  
  
Dylan was staring at the ring. It had a simple silver band and on the top was a light blue gemstone. On either side of the side of the stone were two small pearls. Even though it was simple, Dylan recognized what the ring meant.  
  
"You want me to marry you?" she whispered.  
  
Anthony nodded and then got off of the armchair, sitting next to Dylan on the floor. He took the ring out of the box and then picked up Dylan's left  
  
hand. "You can keep it if you don't want to marry me," he said seriously, placing the ring on her fourth finger.  
  
"Are you crazy," Dylan said. "Of course I want to marry you!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.  
  
When he pulled back from her hug, Anthony started to say, "Why don't-  
  
Dylan cut him off very quickly, pressing her lips to his in a deep kiss. When she pulled back, she said, "Shut up Anthony."  
  
Smiling at her choice of words, Anthony stood up and pulled Dylan with him. He pulled her to him tightly, slipping her hand under her pajama shirt and kissing her deeply.  
  
"The bed, the bed," Dylan whispered breathlessly when they pulled apart.  
  
Anthony snaked his arm all the way under her shirt, wrapping it around her waist and placing his hand on her stomach. He then pulled her to their  
  
room, closing the door behind him.  
  
They both remained in bed for the rest of the morning, and for most of the afternoon, making love to one another many times. And this is how they  
  
celebrated Christmas and their engagement to one another. 


	30. XXX:A New Year Dylan and Anthony

A/N: Big thanks to villianbabe for your review of the last chapter.  
  
A/N #2: This is the last chapter of 'The Winter Art Burglary' and i would greatly appreciate a review of the entire story as well as a review of the last chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.  
  
XXX A New Year Dylan and Anthony  
  
I flipped through my clothes, muttering that I had nothing to wear. After a few more minutes, I threw my hands up and groaned in annoyance.  
  
"What's wrong?" Anthony said behind me.  
  
"I don't have anything to wear for tonight," I said, turning to him.  
  
Anthony just looked at me from where he was sitting on the bed next to Conner.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll look again," I said. I turned back to the closet. Finally, I spied a dress and I pulled it off it's hanger. I walked out of the closet and said to Anthony, "I'll be ready in a couple of minutes. Why don't you go get Conner's collar?"  
  
Anthony nodded and then left the room, the dog following him.  
  
I smoothed out the bottom of my dress and studied myself in the mirror.  
  
The dress I had chosen had very thin spaghetti straps. It was a deep emerald color and it went down to my knees.  
  
I then brushed my hair, sweeping it up into a bun and then I put two hair clips with emeralds and diamonds on either side of my head. I put on my makeup quickly and then pulled on a pair of high heeled shoes.  
  
I left the bedroom and walked into the kitchen where Anthony was waiting for me. "Well," I said , standing in the doorway. "How do I look?"  
  
Anthony's eyes trailed down my body, and he seemed to be speechless. Then he smiled and walked over to me. "Beautiful," he whispered, putting his arms around me.  
  
I put my hands on his upper arms and looked at him. I saw there was a wicked glint in his eyes and I knew that he and I would not be getting out of bed at all the next day. I smiled at that and then accepted Anthony's kiss.  
  
When he pulled back, he asked me, "Ready?"  
  
"Just let me get my shawl," I said. I walked over to the entryway closet and got a black silk shawl. I draped it over my arm and then walked out to  
  
Anthony's car.  
  
Anthony  
  
Traffic on the 405 freeway was unusually light. And that fact that it was a holiday and there was so little traffic was very surprising.  
  
Anthony had wanted to stay at home with Dylan tonight to ring in the new year. Catherine had called them two days after Christmas, though, to invite them to a party she and Adam were going to throw at the Getty.  
  
Dylan had happily accepted the invitation, telling Anthony, "We can tell Cathy and Adam about our engagement."  
  
He was still a little surprised that Dylan had agreed to marry him. Although as time went on, Anthony became more and more anxious to make Dylan his wife. Why he felt that way, he didn't have any idea.  
  
Anthony's attention was forced back to the present as he drove off the freeway and to the museum.  
  
They were allowed into the parking structure by the security guard, and  
  
Anthony drove his car inside to the space next to Adam Ryder's car.  
  
Dylan  
  
I got out of the car and waved to Catherine. "I can't believe we got here early," I called out.  
  
Catherine laughed and then walked over to me. "Thanks for coming," she  
  
said, giving me a quick hug. "Did you bring Conner?"  
  
In response, I opened the backdoor of the car and allowed Conner to get  
  
out.  
  
"Hello boy," Catherine said, scratching him behind the ears.  
  
"We should get going Caty," Adam called.  
  
"Right, let's go," Catherine said. She laced her arm through mine.  
  
We set off towards the tram and I handed Conner's leash to Anthony. "So who'll be at the party?" I asked.  
  
"Just my younger brother and sister and their kids," Adam answered.  
  
"How many kids?" I asked.  
  
"Only three," Adam said. "My sister Amelia, her husband Will and their  
  
son Patrick. And my brother Allen, his wife Rebecca and their twin daughters Susan and Sara."  
  
"That was why I asked you to bring Conner," Catherine said as we got onto the tram.  
  
The tram started going up the hill, and I sat down with Catherine. "You're starting to show a little Cathy," I pointed out.  
  
Catherine smiled serenely and then covered the small bump on her stomach with her hand. "Adam is getting excited about it," she said. "And what about you and Anthony?"  
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.  
  
"You didn't think I wouldn't noticed this Dylan?" Catherine asked, lifting my left hand and indicating my ring.  
  
"I noticed that too," Adam said. "Congrats to both of you."  
  
"Thanks," I said smiling.  
  
"It's a beautiful ring," Catherine said. "Excellent choice Anthony."  
  
Looking slightly embarrassed, Anthony smiled lightly and nodded.  
  
Two hours after we got to the museum, Adam's brother and sister and their families arrived. It took a while for Adam to introduce all of them to me and Anthony. It was especially hard to introduce the kids, because as soon as they saw Conner, they immediately asked to play with him.  
  
When that was over with, Catherine and Adam led the way through the courtyard into building two where we would be eating.  
  
"Adam," Will Martin, his brother-in-law, said. "Please show us the paintings that were stolen before we eat."  
  
"Oh sure," Adam said. He led his sister, brother and their spouses over to the stairs, leaving Catherine, Anthony and I with the kids.  
  
"Come and sit down Cathy," I said, leading her over to a long table that had been set up.  
  
"We need to keep an eye on those three," Catherine said, sinking into a  
  
chair.  
  
"Don't worry Auntie Catherine," Patrick Martin said from where he and his cousins were playing with Conner.  
  
"How old are they?" I asked, sitting down across the table from Catherine.  
  
"Patrick is eight and Susan and Sara are seven," Catherine answered. She then sighed and said, "I can't wait to fill the house with kids." She looked across the table at me and Anthony, who was sitting next to me. "Are you two going to ever have kids?" she asked.  
  
I shrugged and said, "I don't know, but probably not. Seeing as both of us have the jobs that we have."  
  
Catherine was about to respond when Adam and the others returned. They  
  
all gathered around the table, bringing the kids over, and then dinner was served.  
  
At a quarter to midnight, everyone went outside to the gardens. Adam had a small fireworks display set up for the kids to go off at twelve.  
  
"I didn't get champagne," Adam said as he passed out plastic cups with apple cider to everyone. "Since Caty can't have any."  
  
"Three minutes left of 2003," Allen Ryder said, looking at his watch.  
  
"I'll be happy to say goodbye to this year," Catherine commented.  
  
"Well there were some good things that happened Cathy," I reminded her.  
  
"Very true Dylan," Catherine said smiling.  
  
"Fifteen seconds!" Adam said. He then counted down the last seconds of  
  
the year. "... Three, two, one!"  
  
Anthony  
  
By twelve fifteen, he and Dylan were on the freeway, heading home.  
  
Once midnight had struck, the fireworks went off, dazzling the children.  
  
At that point, Anthony had kissed Dylan deeply and whispered, "Happy New Y-Year," when they had pulled apart.  
  
"Let's get out of here as soon as we can," Dylan had whispered to him.  
  
A few minutes later, they did just that, Dylan saying that she wasn't feeling too well and they had to leave.  
  
Now as they were driving, Anthony looked at Dylan from the corner of his eye, admiring the way the green of her dress brought out her fiery hair.  
  
"It will be nice to have some time off, but what are we supposed to do?" Dylan asked as they arrived at the house.  
  
Anthony didn't answer, getting out of the car and letting Conner out from the back seat. He took the dog's leash and led him to the backyard, taking  
  
off his collar and then he walked into the house.  
  
Dylan  
  
I hung up my shawl and closed the closet door when I felt two hands on my arms, kisses being pressed on my neck. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you," I said to Anthony, tilting my head to the side slightly.  
  
"Come on," Anthony whispered, taking my arm and leading me to our room.  
  
A few hours later after we had made love, I was laying awake in bed, looking at my ring.  
  
Anthony, who had been sleeping with his head on my chest, woke up and lifted his head to look at me. "What's wrong?" he asked, stroking my bare skin with one hand.  
  
I smiled and shook my head, my eyes filling with tears. I could tell him that everything from this case had finally caught up with me. The emotions  
  
from losing my father and gaining a sister. To the emotions I felt at being engaged to Anthony. All of them were inside me right then.  
  
Wiping away the tears falling down my cheek, Anthony kissed my forehead. Then he whispered, "I love you Dylan, mon amour."  
  
I turned to look at him and placed my hand on his cheek. We stayed like that for a while, until desire took over and I pulled him down to me.  
  
We spent most of that morning and the afternoon, rediscovering each other's bodies and giving our souls to one another as we always did when we made love together. 


End file.
